Auk

Auk, common name for any of the web-footed seabirds in the auk and puffin family. The razorbill, or razor-billed auk, is a swimming bird, about 40 cm (16 in) long, black above and white beneath. The bird has a short tail and short wings, and walks awkwardly on land. It is, however, an excellent swimmer and diver, and—like the penguin—uses its wings to swim underwater. Like all auks, it feeds on fish, crustaceans, and molluscs.

The razorbill spends most of the year in the open water of the northern Atlantic Ocean, migrating as far south as Portugal in winter. In summer it breeds on the rocky ledges of the North Atlantic coast from northern Spain and the British Isles to Norway, returning to the same nesting ground each year and laying only one or two eggs.

The great auk (also known as the garefowl), now extinct, was a large bird, about the size of a goose. Unable to fly, it was an easy prey; over-hunted for feathers and oil, it became extinct around 1850. Other members of the family are auklets, guillemots, and puffins. Auks are also related to gulls and waders.

Scientific classification: Auks make up the family Alcidae, of the order Charadriiformes. The name especially applies to birds of the genus Alca. The razorbill is classified as Alca torda, and the great auk is classified as Alca impennis.