The North Atlantic flightless bird known as the “penguin of the north,” last confirmed in 1844, was the great auk.
The great auk, Pinguinus impennis, was a large seabird about 75 centimetres tall and weighing roughly 5 kilograms. It lived around the North Atlantic, breeding on remote rocky islands from Newfoundland and Greenland to Iceland and northern Europe. Its short wings were useless for flight but made it an excellent underwater swimmer.
The nickname inspired the later name “penguin.” Southern Hemisphere penguins are not close relatives, but European explorers noticed their similar black-and-white appearance and flightlessness. The great auk was actually an alcid, more closely related to living birds such as the razorbill and little auk.
People hunted great auks for meat, bait, feathers, and eggs, while collectors later sought their skins and specimens. The last confirmed pair was killed on Eldey Island, Iceland, on 3 June 1844, while incubating an egg. A reported sighting in 1852 remains accepted by some authorities, but it was never confirmed. Museums now hold only a small number of skins, eggs, and skeletons.