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Great auk
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Great auks
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Illustration of a great auk (Pinguinus impennis), a flightless bird with a black back, white belly, short wings, and a large, grooved beak.
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Great auks
Great auks A pair of great auks (Pinguinus impennis), lithograph of an illustration by John James Audubon.

Great auk

extinct bird
Also known as: Pinguinus impennis, garefowl
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Great auk, (Pinguinus impennis), flightless seabird extinct since 1844. Great auks belonged to the family Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). They bred in colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts (St. Kilda, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Funk Island off Newfoundland); subfossil remains have been found as far south as Florida, Spain, and Italy. The body of the great auk was approximately 75 cm (30 inches) long; the wings, which were used in swimming underwater, were...

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