The Great Auk: an Extinct Species
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Breeding Ecology and Extinction of the Great Auk (Pinguinus Impennis): Anecdotal Evidence and Conjectures
THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY VOL. 101 JANUARY1984 No. 1 BREEDING ECOLOGY AND EXTINCTION OF THE GREAT AUK (PINGUINUS IMPENNIS): ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE AND CONJECTURES SVEN-AXEL BENGTSON Museumof Zoology,University of Lund,Helgonavi•en 3, S-223 62 Lund,Sweden The Garefowl, or Great Auk (Pinguinusimpen- Thus, the sad history of this grand, flightless nis)(Frontispiece), met its final fate in 1844 (or auk has received considerable attention and has shortly thereafter), before anyone versed in often been told. Still, the final episodeof the natural history had endeavoured to study the epilogue deservesto be repeated.Probably al- living bird in the field. In fact, no naturalist ready before the beginning of the 19th centu- ever reported having met with a Great Auk in ry, the GreatAuk wasgone on the westernside its natural environment, although specimens of the Atlantic, and in Europe it was on the were occasionallykept in captivity for short verge of extinction. The last few pairs were periods of time. For instance, the Danish nat- known to breed on some isolated skerries and uralist Ole Worm (Worm 1655) obtained a live rocks off the southwesternpeninsula of Ice- bird from the Faroe Islands and observed it for land. One day between 2 and 5 June 1844, a several months, and Fleming (1824) had the party of Icelanderslanded on Eldey, a stackof opportunity to study a Great Auk that had been volcanic tuff with precipitouscliffs and a flat caught on the island of St. Kilda, Outer Heb- top, now harbouring one of the largestsgan- rides, in 1821. nettles in the world. -
Tinamiformes – Falconiformes
LIST OF THE 2,008 BIRD SPECIES (WITH SCIENTIFIC AND ENGLISH NAMES) KNOWN FROM THE A.O.U. CHECK-LIST AREA. Notes: "(A)" = accidental/casualin A.O.U. area; "(H)" -- recordedin A.O.U. area only from Hawaii; "(I)" = introducedinto A.O.U. area; "(N)" = has not bred in A.O.U. area but occursregularly as nonbreedingvisitor; "?" precedingname = extinct. TINAMIFORMES TINAMIDAE Tinamus major Great Tinamou. Nothocercusbonapartei Highland Tinamou. Crypturellus soui Little Tinamou. Crypturelluscinnamomeus Thicket Tinamou. Crypturellusboucardi Slaty-breastedTinamou. Crypturellus kerriae Choco Tinamou. GAVIIFORMES GAVIIDAE Gavia stellata Red-throated Loon. Gavia arctica Arctic Loon. Gavia pacifica Pacific Loon. Gavia immer Common Loon. Gavia adamsii Yellow-billed Loon. PODICIPEDIFORMES PODICIPEDIDAE Tachybaptusdominicus Least Grebe. Podilymbuspodiceps Pied-billed Grebe. ?Podilymbusgigas Atitlan Grebe. Podicepsauritus Horned Grebe. Podicepsgrisegena Red-neckedGrebe. Podicepsnigricollis Eared Grebe. Aechmophorusoccidentalis Western Grebe. Aechmophorusclarkii Clark's Grebe. PROCELLARIIFORMES DIOMEDEIDAE Thalassarchechlororhynchos Yellow-nosed Albatross. (A) Thalassarchecauta Shy Albatross.(A) Thalassarchemelanophris Black-browed Albatross. (A) Phoebetriapalpebrata Light-mantled Albatross. (A) Diomedea exulans WanderingAlbatross. (A) Phoebastriaimmutabilis Laysan Albatross. Phoebastrianigripes Black-lootedAlbatross. Phoebastriaalbatrus Short-tailedAlbatross. (N) PROCELLARIIDAE Fulmarus glacialis Northern Fulmar. Pterodroma neglecta KermadecPetrel. (A) Pterodroma -
Maximum Dive Depths Attained by South Georgia Diving Petrel Pelecanoides Georgicus at Bird Island, South Georgia
Antarctic Science 4 (4): 433434 (1992) Short note Maximum dive depths attained by South Georgia diving petrel Pelecanoides georgicus at Bird Island, South Georgia P.A. PRINCE and M. JONES British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET Accepted 25 September 1992 Introduction Maximum dive depths have been recorded for a number of powder was measured to the nearest 0.5 mm. Maximum sea-bird species using simple lightweight capillary gauges depth attained was calculated by the equation: (Burger & Wilson 1988). So far these studies have been dmax= 10.08 ($ -1) confined to penguins (Montague 1985, Seddon &vanHeezik d 1990, Whitehead 1989, Wilson & Wilson 1990, Scolaro & where dmaxismaximumdepth (m)Lsis theinitial length (mm) Suburo 1991), alcids (Burger & Simpson 1986, Burger & of undissolved indicator andL, the length (mm) on recovery Powell 1988, Harris etal. 1990,Burger 1991)andcormorants (Burger & Wilson 1988). (Burger 1991, Wanless et al. 1991). The most proficient divers of the order Procellariformes Results are likely to be thedivingpetrels in the family Pelecanoididae. Although the diet of some species has been studied (Payne & The results are shown in Table I. For all six gauges the mean Prince 1979), their divingperformance and foraging ecology maximumdepthdived was25.7m sd 11.4 (range=17.1-48.6). are unknown. This paper reports the first data on maximum If only the four gauges recovered within 24 h are considered depths attained by South Georgia divingpetrelsp. georgicus then the mean maximum dive depth is reduced to 21.3 m sd (weighing less than 1OOg) while engaged in rearing chicks. -
Earliest Northeastern Atlantic Ocean Basin Record of an Auk (Charadriiformes, Pan-Alcidae): Fossil Remains from the Miocene of Germany
J Ornithol (2013) 154:775–782 DOI 10.1007/s10336-013-0943-6 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Earliest northeastern Atlantic Ocean basin record of an auk (Charadriiformes, Pan-Alcidae): fossil remains from the Miocene of Germany N. Adam Smith • Gerald Mayr Received: 26 November 2012 / Accepted: 28 February 2013 / Published online: 21 March 2013 Ó Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V. 2013 Abstract Newly discovered fossil remains of an auk Zusammenfassung (Aves, Charadriiformes) extend the temporal range of Pan- Alcidae in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean basin and the Fru¨hester Nachweis eines Alkenvogels (Charadriifor- geographic range of the clade during the Miocene. The new mes, Pan-Alcidae) im nordo¨stlichen Atlantik: Fossil- specimen consists of a partial ulna and a radius of a single reste aus dem Mioza¨n Deutschlands individual. It represents the earliest fossil auk from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean basin and the first fossil Ku¨rzlich entdeckte Fossilreste eines Alken (Aves, Cha- remains of an auk reported from Germany. The specimen is radriiformes) erweitern das bekannte zeitliche Vorkommen from a moderately sized auk similar to the extant Razorbill der Pan-Alcidae im nordo¨stlichen Atlantik und das geo- Alca torda, which it also resembles in morphological fea- graphische Verbreitungsgebiet der Gruppe wa¨hrend des tures. A definitive taxonomic referral of the fossil is not Mioza¨ns. Das neue Exemplar besteht aus einem Ulnafrag- possible, but the presence of Alca in the Miocene of the ment und einem Radius eines einzigen Individuums. Es northeastern Atlantic Ocean basin would be congruent with stellt den a¨ltesten fossilen Alken aus dem Nordostatlantik the occurrence of this taxon in the northwestern Atlantic at dar und den ersten Fossilrest eines Alken aus Deutschland. -
Allocation of Growth in Food-Stressed Atlantic Puffin Chicks
The Auk 113(4):830-841, 1996 ALLOCATION OF GROWTH IN FOOD-STRESSED ATLANTIC PUFFIN CHICKS HILDE STOL •JYAN • AND TYCHO ANKER-NILSSEN NorwegianInstitute for NatureResearch, Tungasletta 2, N-7005 Trondheim,Norway ABSTt•CT.--In long-lived seabirdsthat lay a single-eggclutch, allocation of growth to certain body parts may be advantageousfor the chick if food is limited. To investigatethis, 40 Atlantic Puffin (Fraterculaarctica) hatchlings were distributedin sevengroups that were raisedon differentamounts of food to 38 daysof age.When food intakewas reduced,growth rateswere depressedfor all charactersmeasured (i.e. body massand length of the wing, 2nd primary, forearm, head + bill, culmen, skull, tarsus,and middle toe). Head and wing parts grew preferentiallyrelative to the other characters,and onsetof growth was delayedin the primaries.All chicksaccumulated significant amounts of subcutaneousfat, whereasinternal fat depositswere presentonly in the chicksthat receivedthe mostfood. Received14 July1995, accepted20 March 1996. ONEWAY that parent birds adjustfor variation The wide variation in chick growth rates in food availability is to vary clutch size (Lack among speciesof alcids has been attributed to 1954,1966, 1968). In long-livedspecies that lay constraintson feeding ecology, such as spe- a single-eggclutch, alteration of chick growth cialized foraging behaviors,unpredictable and rate apparentlyis the only strategyavailable to patchy food distributions, and great distances adjust for variation in food. Slow growth re- between feeding and nesting sites (Lack 1968; duces daily energy requirements and allows Ricklefs 1968, 1984;Ashmole 1971;Sealy 1973; food to be delivered at a lower rate (Lack 1968; Nelson 1977; Birkhead and Harris 1985). Thus, Ricklefs 1968, 1979; Harris 1977; Nelson 1977; chicks of pelagic alcids often face the problem Drent and Daan 1980). -
Birdobserver28.5 Page329-332 About Books
ABOUT BOOKS: A MEMORIAL AND A MEDITATION Mark Lynch The Great Auk. ¥.xxo\¥\x\\^r. 1999, Harry N. Abrams, 448 pages. Hope is the Thing With Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanishing Birds. Christopher Cokinos. 2000. Tarcher/Putnam. 360 pages. “One death is a tragedy - a million deaths a statistic.” Josef Stalin, The Great Auk (p.120). How can we make sense of the human-caused extinction of a species? How should we react? How do we choose to remember an extinct species? These are difficult and deep questions that anyone with an interest in natural history must ponder from time to time. Humans are complex and seemingly illogical creatures when it comes to death. We will feel acutely depressed about the loss of a family pet while hardly blinking an eye over the horrible massacre of thousands of other humans in central Africa. When we read accounts of the Great Auk or the Dodo, we may react with outrage, fatalistic cynicism, depression, plain sadness, regret for not being able to tick that species on our world list, or any combination of these emotions. Errol Fuller and Christopher Cokinos have wrestled with the big topic of the meaning of human-caused extinction in two very different ways. Errol Fuller is a British painter with more than a passing interest in extinct birds. Previously he has authored the well- known Extinct Birds (1987, Facts On File) as well as The Lost Birds of Paradise (1995, Swan Hill Press). Both books are now out of print. In his latest book he has singled out the Great Auk as the subject of his considerable passion. -
Sentinels of the Ocean the Science of the World’S Penguins
A scientific report from The Pew Charitable Trusts April 2015 Sentinels Of the Ocean The science of the world’s penguins Contents 1 Overview 1 Status of penguin populations 1 Penguin biology Species 3 22 The Southern Ocean 24 Threats to penguins Fisheries 24 Increasing forage fisheries 24 Bycatch 24 Mismatch 24 Climate change 25 Habitat degradation and changes in land use 25 Petroleum pollution 25 Guano harvest 26 Erosion and loss of native plants 26 Tourism 26 Predation 26 Invasive predators 26 Native predators 27 Disease and toxins 27 27 Protecting penguins Marine protected areas 27 Ecosystem-based management 29 Ocean zoning 29 Habitat protections on land 30 31 Conclusion 32 References This report was written for Pew by: Pablo García Borboroglu, Ph.D., president, Global Penguin Society P. Dee Boersma, Ph.D., director, Center for Penguins as Ocean Sentinels, University of Washington Caroline Cappello, Center for Penguins as Ocean Sentinels, University of Washington Pew’s environmental initiative Joshua S. Reichert, executive vice president Tom Wathen, vice president Environmental science division Becky Goldburg, Ph.D., director, environmental science Rachel Brittin, officer, communications Polita Glynn, director, Pew Marine Fellows Program Ben Shouse, senior associate Charlotte Hudson, director, Lenfest Ocean Program Anthony Rogers, senior associate Katie Matthews, Ph.D., manager Katy Sater, senior associate Angela Bednarek, Ph.D., manager Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the many contributors to Penguins: Natural History and Conservation (University of Washington Press, 2013), upon whose scholarship this report is based. Used by permission of the University of Washington Press The environmental science team would like to thank Dee Boersma, Pablo “Popi” Borboroglu, and Caroline Cappello for sharing their knowledge of penguins by writing and preparing this report. -
Alpha Codes for 2168 Bird Species (And 113 Non-Species Taxa) in Accordance with the 62Nd AOU Supplement (2021), Sorted Taxonomically
Four-letter (English Name) and Six-letter (Scientific Name) Alpha Codes for 2168 Bird Species (and 113 Non-Species Taxa) in accordance with the 62nd AOU Supplement (2021), sorted taxonomically Prepared by Peter Pyle and David F. DeSante The Institute for Bird Populations www.birdpop.org ENGLISH NAME 4-LETTER CODE SCIENTIFIC NAME 6-LETTER CODE Highland Tinamou HITI Nothocercus bonapartei NOTBON Great Tinamou GRTI Tinamus major TINMAJ Little Tinamou LITI Crypturellus soui CRYSOU Thicket Tinamou THTI Crypturellus cinnamomeus CRYCIN Slaty-breasted Tinamou SBTI Crypturellus boucardi CRYBOU Choco Tinamou CHTI Crypturellus kerriae CRYKER White-faced Whistling-Duck WFWD Dendrocygna viduata DENVID Black-bellied Whistling-Duck BBWD Dendrocygna autumnalis DENAUT West Indian Whistling-Duck WIWD Dendrocygna arborea DENARB Fulvous Whistling-Duck FUWD Dendrocygna bicolor DENBIC Emperor Goose EMGO Anser canagicus ANSCAN Snow Goose SNGO Anser caerulescens ANSCAE + Lesser Snow Goose White-morph LSGW Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Lesser Snow Goose Intermediate-morph LSGI Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Lesser Snow Goose Blue-morph LSGB Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Greater Snow Goose White-morph GSGW Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Greater Snow Goose Intermediate-morph GSGI Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Greater Snow Goose Blue-morph GSGB Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Snow X Ross's Goose Hybrid SRGH Anser caerulescens x rossii ANSCAR + Snow/Ross's Goose SRGO Anser caerulescens/rossii ANSCRO Ross's Goose -
Demographic Reconstruction from Ancient DNA Supports Rapid Extinction
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction ANGOR UNIVERSITY of the great auk Thomas, Jessica; Carvalho, Gary; Haile, James; Rawlence, Nicolas J ; Martin, Michael D.; Ho, Simon YW ; Sigfússon, Arnór Þ ; Jósefsson, Vigfús A ; Frederiksen, Morten ; Linnebjerg, Jannie F ; Samaniego Castruita, Jose A ; Niemann, Jonas ; Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S ; Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela ; Soares, André ER ; Lacy, Robert ; Barilaro, Christina ; Best, Juila ; Brandis, Dirk ; Cavallo, Chiara ; Elorza, Mikelo ; Garrett, Kimball L ; Groot, Maaike ; Johansson, Friederike ; Lifjeld, Jan T ; Nilson, Goran ; Serjeanston, Dale ; Sweet, Paul ; Fuller, Errol ; Hufthammer, Anne Karin ; Meldgaard, Morten ; PRIFYSGOL BANGOR / B Fjeldsa, Jon ; Shapiro, Beth ; Hofreiter, Michael ; Stewart, John R ; Gilbert, M Thomas P ; Knapp, Michael Elife DOI: 10.7554/eLife.47509 Published: 26/11/2019 Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Cyswllt i'r cyhoeddiad / Link to publication Dyfyniad o'r fersiwn a gyhoeddwyd / Citation for published version (APA): Thomas, J., Carvalho, G., Haile, J., Rawlence, N. J., Martin, M. D., Ho, S. YW., Sigfússon, A. Þ., Jósefsson, V. A., Frederiksen, M., Linnebjerg, J. F., Samaniego Castruita, J. A., Niemann, J., Sinding, M-H. S., Sandoval-Velasco, M., Soares, A. ER., Lacy, R., Barilaro, C., Best, J., Brandis, D., ... Knapp, M. (2019). Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk. Elife, 8, [e47509]. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 Hawliau Cyffredinol / General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. -
SHORT NOTE Re-Laying Following Egg Failure by Common Diving
240 Notornis, 2007, Vol. 54: 240-242 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Inc. SHORT NOTE Re-laying following egg failure by common diving petrels (Pelecanoides urinatrix) GRAEME A. TAYLOR Research and Development Group, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10 420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand [email protected] COLIN M. MISKELLY Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 6145, New Zealand The c.130 species of albatrosses and petrels storm petrels (Oceanodroma furcata) where 2nd eggs (Procellariiformes) all lay a single egg during were laid an average of 3 weeks after removal of the each breeding attempt (Marchant & Higgins 1990; 1st egg (from a sample of 36 nests from which eggs Warham 1990). There are few documented instances were removed). In 1 nest, the same female laid a 3rd of members of the order laying a replacement egg egg after the 2nd egg was removed. Both members following egg failure, and all but 1 of these examples of the pair were marked at only 1 of the 29 nests has been from storm petrels (Hydrobatidae). where replacement eggs were laid so the parentage Boersma et al. (1980) reported 29 nests of fork-tailed of the replacement egg could not be confirmed, but at least 1 of the mates remained the same at a further 11 nests. Other examples of storm petrels apparently Received 8 July 2006; accepted 31 August 2006 re-laying following egg failure include: British storm Short Note 241 petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), n = 2 (Gordon 1931; western coast of Auckland, North I, New Zealand, David 1957); Leach’s storm petrel (O. -
The Present Status of the Great Black-Backed Gull on the Coast of Maine 1
Vol.1945 62]] GROSS,Status ofGreat Black-backed Gull 241 97. Melospiza georgiana,SWAMP S•,Am•OW.--Fairly common summer resident. St. Anthony, May 28 to September 19. 98. Plectrophenaxnivalis nivalis, EAST•tN SNOWBtrNTXNG.--Common in migration. Occasionalwinter straggler. St. Anthony, March 27 to May 2; October 13 to November 11. Cape Batfid, October 10, 1943. LABRADOR NoTeS OF INTeReST 1. Ga•a $tellata,R•D-THROAT•D LOON.--lkigolet, September24, 1940 (spedmen). 2. Fulmarusglacialis glacialis, ATLANTIC FULMAR.--Batteau, September 21, 1940. 3. Histrionicushistrionicus histrionicus, EASTERN Iff•m,•Qtr•N Dtmx.•Square Island, July, 1940. Stuffed bird recently killed offered to me for sale. 4. Melanltta fusca deglandl,WHIT•-WXNGB• ScoT•R.--Rigolet, September 21, 1940 (•fty). 5. Melanitta perspicillata, Strm• ScoT•.--Lake Melville, September 15, 1940; September 21, 1940 (2000). 6. Mergus serrator, I•-B•AST• M•ANS•.--Lake Melville, September 16, 1940 (adults with young). 7. Arenaria interpres,R•or•¾ TtmNSTON•.--Oready, August 23, 1936; Seal Islands, September 12, 1940; Barteau, September 21, 1940. 8. Eroliafuscicollis, WmT•-•tnm,• SaNm'n,•R.--Indian Harbor, abundant summer resident. July 22, 1935, adults seen with young birds (I can find no record of the bird's breeding in Labrador). 9. Crocethiaalba, SAN•RLIN•.--Brador Bay, September 23, 1936 (Bttrge). 10. Hirundo rustica erythrogaster,B•mN SwALLOW.--Indian Harbor. One record, August 23, 1935. 11. Loxia Ieucopteraleucoptera, Wm•-WIN• C•osssmL.--Indian Harbor, August 7, 1935. Washington,D.C. THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL ON THE COAST OF MAINE 1 BY ALFRED O. GROSS Plates 12-15 Sx•c•the beginningof the presentcentury great changes have taken place in the populations of the sea birds inhabiting the Maine coast. -
Maximum Dive Depths of Eight New Zealand Procellariiformes, Including Pterodroma Species
Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, Volume 142(1), 2008 89 MAXIMUM DIVE DEPTHS OF EIGHT NEW ZEALAND PROCELLARIIFORMES, INCLUDING PTERODROMA SPECIES by G. A. Taylor (with four text-figures, one plate and one table) Taylor, G.A. 2008 (31 :x): Maximum dive depths of eight New Zealand Procellariiformes, including Pterodroma species. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 142(1): 89-98. https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.142.1.89 ISSN 0080-4703. Research & Development Group, Dep::trtment of Conservation, PO Box 10420, Wellington, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] Lightweight capillary tube depth gauges were attached to eight petrel species breeding at New Zealand colonies during the period 1998-2008. This paper presents the first information on the diving ability of Pterodroma petrels. Grey-faced Petrels, Pterodroma macroptera gouldi, re corded maximum dives down to 23 m. Males (6.3 ± 6.3 m SD) dived deeper on average than females (3.6 ± 2.5 m) during the incubation period but not significantlyso (P�0.06). Breeding birds dived significantlydeeper on average than non-breeders, and breeding males dived significantly deeper on average than non-breeding males. The two small Pterodroma species sampled, Pterodroma pycrofti and Pterodroma nigripennis, only exhibited shallow dives down to 2 m but sample sizes were small. Sooty Shearwaters, Pujfinus griseus, had mean maximum dive depths of 42.7 ± 23.7 m, with males (53.0 ± 17.3 m) diving significantly deeper on average than females (20.1 ± 20.4 m) during the incubation period. One male Sooty Shearwarer dived to nearly 93 m, the deepest dive so far recorded in the order Procellariiformes.