Vertebrate Zoology

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Alcidae

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

Alcidae (auks; class Aves, order Charadriiformes) A family of mainly black and white, small-winged, diving seabirds in which the legs are set well back, the feet are webbed, and bills vary from long and pointed to laterally compressed and high. Auks are mainly pelagic and gregarious, breeding in burrows or crevices, or on open cliff ledges, usually colonially. Brachyramphus marmoratus (marbled murrelet) breeds on forest branches. The two species of Fratercula (puffins) have distinctive yellow and red, large, laterally compressed bills during the breeding season; the horny bill plates and a horn-like structure around the eye are both shed in winter. Their feet are red with claws modified for digging burrows; they inhabit grassy island slopes and cliffs, breeding in rock crevices and burrows, and spending the rest of the year at sea. Auks feed on fish and invertebrates. There are 12–14 genera, and 22 species, found in northern regions of the Pacific and Atlantic, and in the Arctic.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Alcidae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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auks

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

auks are diving seabirds of the northern hemisphere which, like penguins, have their legs at the back of their bodies and on land stand upright and are clumsy movers. They use their wings for both flying and swimming. The great auk (Pinguinus impennis), which lost the power of flight, was a northern version of a penguin. It was driven to extinction by over-exploitation; the last recorded specimen was collected in 1844.

M. V. Angel

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"auks." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-auks.html

"auks." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-auks.html

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auks

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

auks See ALCIDAE; CHARADRIIFORMES.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "auks." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "auks." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-auks.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "auks." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-auks.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Palaeolithic images and the Great Auk. Magazine article from: Antiquity; 12/1/1995
	Talisman to boost North Sea presence with Fulmar, Auk deal.(Talisman Energy Inc) Newspaper article from: The Oil Daily; 2/16/2006
	Birds of the Grotte Cosquer: the Great Auk and Palaeolithic prehistory. Magazine article from: Antiquity; 3/1/1994