The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original PenguinGarefowls, Penguins of the North, Riesenalks, Apponaths, Great Auks -- all of these were names for a sea bird whose extinction was entirely the work of humankind. The birds' existence ended on the morning of the third day of June 1844, when the last two recorded great auks were killed by three fishermen on the island of Eldey, a few miles south of Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean. For thousands of years, until not so long before that fateful day, great auks swam the Atlantic in their millions and flocked to their breeding grounds from Newfoundland in the west, to Iceland and the Outer Hebrides in the east. Whole colonies at a time were hunted to death for their meat, feathers, and fat by sailors and fishermen from Europe and the Americas. Since the total vanishing of the species, the great auk has become an icon of extinction, alongside the dodo, the passenger pigeon, and the moa. More highly prized as a trophy than any other extinct bird, all its attributes - from its eggs to the oral history of its demise -- were until fairly recently, voraciously collected. Its protean appearance in almost every artistic and visual form, from cigarette boxes to bronze and marble statues, has immortalised one of the most tragic man-made extinctions. The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguintells this tale of destruction and of what we, as a species, do to the world around us. Errol Fuller is a world-renowned authority on extinct birds and the author of many books concerned with extinction and conservation. |
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The great auk
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictThe great auk, or "penguin of the north," is nearly as well known in the annals of extinction as the dodo and passenger pigeon. A flightless bird, it lived in large colonies--a habit that was ... Read full review
Contents
The Great Auks Appearance | 12 |
The Penguin and the Auk | 14 |
The Home of the Great Auk | 21 |
The Life of the Great Auk | 22 |
The Living Bird | 24 |
Extinction | 30 |
The Witch of St Kilda | 34 |
1844 | 36 |
Alfred Newton John Wolley and Symington Grieve | 38 |
Stuffed Birds | 42 |
Eggs | 44 |
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Common terms and phrases
19th-century illustration 19th-century ornitholog 19th-century photograph Alfred Newton ashore auk's auks lived became extinct bird's black and white boat bothy breeding islands Cambridge captive bird caught centuries Coasts of Newfoundland collectors colonies Copenhagen Edinburgh egg collection enormous beak entrance to Waterford Errol Fuller extinct fact feath flightless found on Funk Funk Island Garefowl Books Geirfuglasker guillemots guins height of summer Hjalmar Bardarson hunted Iceland Respecting individuals island of Eldey John Wolley Keulemans Kilda large number last great auks living bird lonely islands Museum of Natural name penguin National Museum Natural History Museum neck never North Atlantic Original Penguin Ornithologists perhaps photographed by Hjalmar raid the islanders razorbill relic Researches in Iceland rock sailors Scotland season species stuffed birds stuffed great auks surviving stuffed Symington Grieve Trinity College vanished village of Kyrkjuvogr waddle Waterford Harbor weather white patch winter the birds Witch of St Wolley and Newton Wolley's Researches Zoological Museum
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguin Volume 3 of Lost Worlds |
| Author | Errol Fuller |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Bunker Hill Publishing, Inc., 2003 |
| ISBN | 1593730039, 9781593730031 |
| Length | 48 pages |
| Subjects | › › Nature / Birdwatching Guides Science / Life Sciences / Evolution |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |