Great Auk – or Greatest Auk?

My blog’s title, of course, references the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis, formerly found throughout the northern Atlantic.  This bird, like the Dodo, is one of the most notorious examples of human-caused extinction in recent history; the last breeding pair, along with their egg, were destroyed on 04 June 1844 on the island of Eldey off the coast of Iceland.

But there’s a lot to the Great Auk besides just its sad end.   “In Praise of the Great Auk” explains why.