Special presentation: Geirfugl (Great Auk)

Latin (scientific) name - Alca impennis

Gjesvær has been populated more than 6000 years. In the early years, the little community was named Geirsvær.

The origin of the name is the bird Geirfugl (Great Auk). It was the largest species in the group that include puffins and guillemots.

It became extinct in 1844 after 300 years of careless hunting. The Great Auk was completely flightless. The legs were near the tail, giving the bird an upright posture on land, like that of a penguin. In fact, the first scientific name was Pinguinus impennis (impennis = without wings) and, furthermore, the penguins in the Antarctic got their name from the Great Auk.

However, it was renamed – Alca impennis - when it became evident that it was related to the auks. The Great Auk was much bigger than the auks of today. 70 – 80 cm from bill to tail. Whereas living auks weigh from 90 grams to 1 kg, the Great Auk weighed 5 kg.

- Birds in Ola's BirdGuide -

Puffin  |  Guillemot  |  Razorbill  |  Black Guillemot  |  Red-necked Phalarope  |  Purple Sandpiper  |  Shag  |  Cormorant  |  Arctic Skua  |  White-tailed Eagle  |  Raven  |  Carrion Crow  |  Gannet  |  Fulmar  |  Oystercatcher  |  Arctic Tern  |  Great black-backed Gull  |  Kittiwake Common Gull  |  Herring Gull  |  Eider  |  Goosander  |  Long-tailed Duck  |  Mallard   † Great Auk