Editing Great auk (section)

==Description==
[[File:Keulemans-GreatAuk.jpg|upright|left|alt=A large bird with a black back, white belly, and white eye patch stands on a rock by the ocean, as a similar bird with a white stripe instead of an eyepatch swims.|thumb|Summer (standing) and winter (swimming) plumage, by [[John Gerrard Keulemans]]]]
Standing about {{convert|75|to|85|cm|in}} tall and weighing approximately {{convert|5|kg|lb}} as adult birds,<ref name="Livezey">{{cite journal |last=Livezey |first=Bradley C. |author-link=Bradley C. Livezey | title = Morphometrics of flightlessness in the Alcidae| journal = [[The Auk]] | volume = 105 | issue = 4 | pages = 681–698 | publisher = University of California Press | location = Berkeley| year = 1988 |doi=10.1093/auk/105.4.681 | url = http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v105n04/p0681-p0698.pdf | access-date =8 May 2009 }}</ref> the flightless great auk was the second-largest member of both its family and the order [[Charadriiformes]] overall, surpassed only by the [[Mancallinae|mancalline]] ''[[Miomancalla]]''. It is, however, the largest species to survive into modern times. The great auks that lived farther north averaged larger in size than the more southerly members of the species.<ref name=BNASystematics>{{cite web |last1=Montevecchi |first1=William A. |first2=David A. |last2=Kirk |title=Systematics |series=Great Auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') |website=The Birds of North America Online |publisher=Cornell University |place=Ithaca, NY |department=Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |year=1996 |url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/260/articles/systematics |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Males and females were similar in plumage, although there is evidence for differences in size, particularly in the bill and [[femur]] length.<ref name=BNACharacteristics>{{cite web |last1=Montevecchi |first1=William A. |first2=David A. |last2=Kirk |title=Characteristics |series=Great Auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') |website=The Birds of North America Online |department=Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |publisher=Cornell University |place=Ithaca, NY |year=1996 |url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/260/articles/characteristics |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=BNAMeasurements>{{cite web |last1=Montevecchi |first1=William A. |first2=David A. |last2=Kirk |title =Measurements |series=Great Auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') |website=The Birds of North America Online |department=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |publisher=Cornell University |place=Ithaca, NY |year=1996 |url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/260/articles/measurements |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=8}} The back was primarily a glossy black, and the belly was white. The neck and legs were short, and the head and wings small. During summer, it developed a wide white eye patch over each eye, which had a hazel or chestnut iris.<ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|pages=9, 15, 28}}<ref name=Cokinos2000/>{{rp|page=310}} Auks are known for their close resemblance to penguins, their [[Webbed foot|webbed feet]] and [[countershading]] are a result of [[convergent evolution]] in the water.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/aukward-truth-about-penguins-and-their-flightless-doppelgangers | title=The "aukward" truth about penguins and their flightless doppelgangers | date=25 August 2021 }}</ref> During winter the great auk [[moult]]ed and lost this eye patch, which was replaced with a wide white band and a grey line of feathers that stretched from the eye to the ear.<ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=8}} During the summer, its chin and throat were blackish-brown and the inside of the mouth was yellow.<ref name=BNACharacteristics/> In winter, the throat became white.<ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=8}} Some individuals reportedly had grey plumage on their flanks, but the purpose, seasonal duration, and frequency of this variation is unknown.<ref>{{cite book |last = Rothschild |first = Walter |author-link = Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild |title = Extinct Birds |publisher = Hutchinson & Co. |year = 1907 |location = London |url = https://archive.org/download/extinctbirdsatte00roth/extinctbirdsatte00roth.pdf}}</ref> The [[beak|bill]] was large at {{convert|11|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} long and curved downward at the top;<ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=28}} the bill also had deep white grooves in both the upper and lower mandibles, up to seven on the upper mandible and twelve on the lower mandible in summer, although there were fewer in winter.<ref name=BNAAppearance/><ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=29}} The [[wing]]s were only {{convert|15|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length and the longest wing feathers were only {{convert|10|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=Crofford_1989/>{{rp|page=28}} Its feet and short claws were black, while the webbed skin between the toes was brownish black.<ref name=BNAAppearance>{{Cite web |last1=Montevecchi |first1=William A. |first2=David A. |last2=Kirk |title=Appearance |series=Great Auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') |website=The Birds of North America Online |publisher=Cornell University |place=Ithaca, NY |department=Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |year=1996 |url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/260/articles/appearance |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The legs were far back on the bird's body, which gave it powerful swimming and diving abilities.<ref name=Cokinos2000/>{{rp|page=312}}
[[File:Great Auk variation.jpg|upright|alt=A large, elongate egg is sketched, primarily white with brown streaks condensing closer to the larger end.|thumb|Paintings showing variation in egg markings, as well as seasonal and [[ontogenic]] differences in plumage]]
Hatchlings were described as grey and downy, but their exact appearance is unknown, since no skins exist today.<ref name="BNAAppearance" /> Juvenile birds had fewer prominent grooves in their beaks than adults and they had mottled white and black necks,<ref name="FOM 1864" /> while the eye spot found in adults was not present; instead, a grey line ran through the eyes (which still had white eye rings) to just below the ears.<ref name="BNACharacteristics" />

Great Auk calls included low croaking and a hoarse scream. A captive great auk was observed making a gurgling noise when anxious. It is not known what its other vocalizations were, but it is believed that they were similar to those of the [[razorbill]], only louder and deeper.<ref name="BNASounds">{{Cite web | last = Montevecchi | first = William A. |author2=David A. Kirk | title =Sounds-Great Auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') | work = The Birds of North America Online | publisher = Cornell Lab of Ornithology | year = 1996 | url =http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/260/articles/sounds | access-date =28 April 2010 }}</ref>