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.