Wildlife
Auks are the northern hemisphere equivalent of penguins. Whilst they share similar looks, habits and lifestyle however, auks have retained the ability to fly, whereas penguins can't. Although they're not brilliant in the air, auks do excel at swimming and diving, using their short wings to propel themselves along. Auks live out in the open ocean and only come ashore to breed in colonies on cliff ledges, coasts or in burrows. As well as birds that bear the name auk, puffins, guillemots and razorbills belong in this family.
Scientific name: Alcidae
Rank: Family
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Last of the great auks
Trading across the North Alantic caused the only British bird extinction of historical times.
Trading across the North Alantic caused the only British bird extinction of historical times.
Underwater fliers
Auks bridge the barrier between air and water to fly underwater.
Auks bridge the barrier between air and water to fly underwater.
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Auks can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, United Kingdom. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Auks distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Extant auks range in size from the Least Auklet, at 85 g (3 oz) and 15 cm (6 in), to the Thick-billed Murre, at 1 kg (2.2 lb) and 45 cm (18 in). They are good swimmers and divers, but their walking appears clumsy. Modern auks can fly (except for the recently extinct Great Auk). Due to their short wings, auks have to flap their wings very quickly in order to fly.
Auks are superficially similar to penguins having black-and-white colours, upright posture and some of their habits. Nevertheless they are not closely related to penguins, but rather are believed to be an example of moderate convergent evolution.
Auks live on the open sea and only go ashore for breeding, although some species, like the Common Guillemot, spend a great part of the year defending their nesting spot from others.
Several species have different names in Europe and North America. The guillemots of Europe are murres in North America, if they occur in both continents, and the Little Auk becomes the Dovekie.
Some species, such as the Uria guillemots, nest in large colonies on cliff edges; others, like the Cepphus guillemots, breed in small groups on rocky coasts; and the puffins, auklets and some murrelets nest in burrows. All species except the Brachyramphus murrelets are colonial.
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Adapted to swimming
Carnivorous
Adapted to flying
Egg layer
Predator