The Great Auk

Stuffed great auk specimen at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, 
believed to be one of the last two hunted.

     Meticulous, or just lucky, museum-goers may find a stuffed or skeletal great auk tucked into an odd corner. Fortunate museums may even have an egg of the water bird. However, no museum will ever contain a living specimen. The great auk, also known as the garefowl, went extinct in 1844.

 

Ink drawing of great auk.

Image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/NSRW_Great_Auk.png

     Casual visitors run the risk of mistaking the birds for penguins. The misunderstanding is reasonable. Like many members of the auk family, the bird did enjoy penguin-like coloration. During the summer, great auks, much like the penguins of the south, had pale bellies and black backs. An oval-shaped white patches adorned either side of the bird’s face before each dark eye. However, the birds also changed their colors with the seasons. The winter plumage mirrored the summer coloration, although the light eye patches faded to black and the white belly feathers banded across the nape and chin. As the largest member of the alcid family, great auks stood at an impressive three feet tall. Despite the admirable height and tuxedo-like pattern, the bird managed to avoid a regal appearance through its ridiculously tiny wings. The wings, roughly the same length as those belonging to a bird half the great auk’s size, resided low on the bird’s body, making them even more comical. Seemingly compensating for the dainty appearance of the wings, the thick, heavy bill reveals an intimidating amount strength. While the beak effectively snapped small fish, the weight of the beak also crunched through the shells of crustaceans. Strangely, the beak bore three to twelve grooves. The purpose of the grooves remains undetermined, but some scientists suspect they relate to age. Also, some specimens have the grooves painted white. Since the colors of bird’s hard parts typically fade quickly, painting the beak and feet is fairly standard in the maintenance process. No description mentions white grooves, though, so they may result from speculative taxidermists.

Detailed shot of great auk's face. 

Note the large bill and white eye patches.

 

     Despite the bird’s appearance, it is not related to penguins. Unlike penguins, great auks lived exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. They especially favored the rocky coasts of the North Atlantic, thriving in Iceland and Canada. In such areas they were, ironically, called penguins. They actually had the name before the famous birds of the south. When northern explorers first encountered the black-and-white southern birds, they named them after the more familiar great auk. Eventually, the northern birds lost their name to the south-dwellers, even though they were not, in fact, remotely related to each other.

Image from the Illustrated Alphabet of Birds. 

Illustration from  
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/The_Illustrated_Alphabet_of_Birds%2C_The_Auk.jpg

     Great auks are, unsurprisingly, related to auks, sometimes referred to as alcids. The alcid family includes puffins, guillemots, murres, and auklets. All members of the family reside in fairly cool northern climates. They also spend much of their lives at sea. Like penguins, they used their wings to dive into the ocean, occasionally reached depths of over 500 feet. Unlike penguins, though, they use their flat, webbed feet to swim at the ocean’s surface. Additionally, most members of the alcid family fly effectively, if inelegantly. The garefowl attracts attention since it was flightless in a mostly flying family. Yet, the inability to fly made it perfect for the water. Large, flight-worthy wings create drag, preventing the birds from diving effectively. Small wings set back on the body gave the birds a streamline shape better suited for reaching the ocean floor and its tasty occupants. As a result, great auks could reach otherwise unavailable food sources.

Close-up of great auk's ridiculously tiny wings.

 

      While the birds were made for the ocean, their specialization was fatal on land. The inability to fly made the birds vulnerable when nesting, so they would raise their young in huge colonies, providing the auks with safety through numbers. Since they relied on such large groups, a single pair would often fail to raise young without the presence of hundreds of other birds. Additionally, the garefowl bred slowly. Due to limited resources, such as space, warmth, and food, the great auk, like many other alcids, only produced one offspring every season. Generally, the birds enjoyed unusual longevity for fowl, so they could still produce enough young to maintain healthy numbers. Prolonged interference with breeding, though, could and, sadly, would shatter the entire population.

Front view of the great auk at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

      In the birds’ native habitat, they provided vital resources for the local human population. Trees and other conventional fuel sources do not exist near most of the great auk’s former rookeries, so the birds provided vital light and warmth through their oil. Their flesh also gave vital nourishment in areas with limited livestock or hunting options. Eventually, the birds also supplied a source of income. Eggs, while often eaten, became highly collectable by European and American scientists and hobbyists. Feather hats fell in vogue in the early 1800’s, so hunters would deliberately hunt the birds for the attractive black and white plumes. Some records suggest the birds suffered greatly in the process. A few statements suggest the birds were plucked while alive, then released to die due to exposure. Naturalists also claim hunters burned the birds alive to cook their fellow alcids. Currently, some historians cast doubt on such records, due to the racism and cultural bias of the recorders. Still, no one doubts the effects of constant hunting.

Image of a great auk published by Popular Science Monthly: Volume 33.

Image from
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/PSM_V33_D474_The_great_auk.jpg.

     The results of the limitless collections took their toll. Pressure from economic and lifestyle hunting steadily made the birds scarcer. In a gross sort of irony, the rarity of the birds increased demand for specimens from museums and hobbyists, resulting in even more hunting than usual. Eventually, the number of the birds slipped to a point where the large colonies, so vital for breeding, failed to reach appropriate numbers. The last successful hunt occurred in 1844, resulting in the capture of a pair and the destruction of their egg. Some sightings were recorded in the years after the hunt, but many doubt the authenticity of such sightings. Even if they were accurate, the numbers seen could not possibly result in the large groups needed to repopulate the northern waters. The great auk was, effectively, extinct.

A quartet of extinct North American birds.

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

     Visitors wishing to find a great auk can only discover them through illustrations and specimens. Seventy-eight stuffed birds reside in various holdings throughout the world. The speckled eggshells of the great auk reach seventy-five in number. Yet, the bird remains strangely unpopular. Other extinct species, such as the dodo and Tasmanian tiger evoke strong feelings, guilt, and activism, while the great auk seems to avoid such attention. Perhaps it looks too similar to its living southern namesake to attract public interest. For whatever reason, the great auk seems destined to quietly reside in odd corners.