Great auk

The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) was a flightless bird of the alcid family that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus (unrelated to penguins, although it was the first bird to be called penguin). It bred on rocky, isolated islands with easy access to the ocean and a plentiful food supply, a rarity in nature that provided only a few breeding sites for the auks. When not breeding, the auks spent their time foraging in the waters of the North Atlantic, ranging as far south as northern Spain and also around the coast of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Ireland, and Great Britain.

The great auk was 75 to 85 centimetres (30 to 33 in) tall and weighed around 5 kilograms (11 lb), making it the second largest member of the alcid family (Miomancalla was larger). It had a black back and a white belly. The black beak was heavy and hooked, with grooves on its surface. During summer, the great auk's plumage showed a white patch over each eye. During winter, the auk lost these patches, instead developing a white band stretching between the eyes. The wings were only 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, rendering the bird flightless. Instead, the auk was a powerful swimmer, a trait that it used in hunting. Its favourite prey were fish, including Atlantic menhaden and capelin, and crustaceans. Although agile in the water, it was clumsy on land. Great auk pairs mated for life. They nested in extremely dense and social colonies, laying one egg on bare rock. The egg was white with variable brown marbling. Both parents incubated the egg for about six weeks before the young hatched. The young auk left the nest site after two or three weeks although the parents continued to care for it.

Great

Great may refer to:

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Great (1975 film)

Great is a 28-minute animated film released in 1975, telling a humorous version of the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was directed by Bob Godfrey, produced by Grantstern Films and distributed by British Lion.

Great won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 48th Academy Awards in March 1976.Great was the first British animated film to win an Academy Award, and also won the BAFTA award for Best Animated Film in 1976.

Background

The film recounts the life and works of the 19th century British civil engineer and architect Isambard Kingdom Brunel in a way that is affectionate while often tongue-in-cheek. The narrator, voiced by Harry Fowler, explains the triumphs and setbacks of Brunel's career, comparing him to Archimedes, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Richard Briers provides the voice of Brunel. There are numerous songs in the film, including "Get a big top hat if you want to get ahead". Great is primarily an animated film, although it is mixed media, combining some live action sequences with the animation.

Great (2013 film)

Great is a 2013 German short film.

External links

Auk

An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Extant auks range in size from the least auklet, at 85 g (3 oz) and 15 cm (5.9 in), to the thick-billed murre, at 1 kg (2.2 lb) and 45 cm (18 in). They are good swimmers and divers, but their walking appears clumsy. Modern auks can fly (except for the extinct great auk). Due to their short wings, auks have to flap their wings very quickly in order to fly.

Auks are superficially similar to penguins having black-and-white colours, upright posture and some of their habits. Nevertheless, they are not closely related to penguins, but rather are believed to be an example of moderate convergent evolution.

Auks live on the open sea and go ashore only for breeding, although some species, like the common guillemot, spend a great part of the year defending their nesting spot from others.

Several species have different common names in Europe and North America. The guillemots of Europe are murres in North America, if they occur in both continents, and the little auk becomes the dovekie.

The Auk

The Auk: Ornithological Advances is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). It was established in 1884. The journal covers the anatomy, behavior, and distribution of birds. It is named for the great auk, the symbol of the AOU. Since 2014, the journal is published by the American Ornithologists' Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society.

Editors

The following persons have been editors-in-chief of the journal:

AUK

AUK may refer to:

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