The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

AUK

Auk is a name of certain swimming birds, of the family Alcidae, including the great auk, the little auk, the puffin, etc. The genus Alca, or auks proper, contains only two species, the great auk (Alca impennis) and the razor-bill (Alca torda). The great auk or gair-fowl, a bird about one metre in length, used to be plentiful in northerly regions, and also visited the British shores, but has become extinct. Some seventy skins, about as many eggs, with bones representing perhaps a hundred individuals, are preserved in various museums. Though the largest species of the family, the wings were only fifteen centimeters from the carpal joint to the tip, totally useless for flight, but employed as fins in swimming, especially under water. The tail was about seven centimeters long; the beak was high, short, and compressed; the head, neck, and upper parts were blackish; a large spot under each eye, and most of the under parts white. Its legs were placed so far back as to cause it to sit nearly upright. The razor-bill is about 38 cm in length, and its wings are sufficiently developed to be used for flight. It is found in numbers on some parts of the British shores, as the Isle of Man.
Research Auk