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■ SUMMARY
Some Aspects oe the History
OE THE GrEAT AuK IN ICELAND
A brief account is given of specific aspects of
the Great Auk's history in Iceland, in view of
the 150 years anniversary of its extinction in
1994. Use is made of a number of references,
i.e. Steenstrup (1857), Newton (1861), Grieve
(1885), Arnþór Garðarsson (1984), Bengtson
(1984), Nettleship & Birkhead (1985), Hjálm-
ar Bárðarson (1986), and Bourne (1993).
The life history of the species is briefly re-
viewed. Only three nesting places are known
for certain in Iceland, but several others are
putative. The population appears to have num-
bered hundreds of pairs to a few thousand
around 1750, before the final decline and
eventual disappearance in 1844.
The early Icelandic literature, including the
1281 Jónsbók book of law and Snorri's Edda
from the 14th century, does nol tell mucli of
Great Auks. This could mean the population
was already depressed at that time, or simply
limited to a few, remote skerries. In later cen-
turies records tell of frequenl hunting trips to
the Great Auk colonies, especially that on
Geirfuglasker off Reykjanes, which was by l’ar
the largest colony. Icelanders made regular
trips tliere from about 1750 onwards, bul these
became irregular as the 18th century drew to a
close. The colony was raided by the British in
1808 and the Faeroese in 1813. Finally, the
skerry itself is believed to have disappeared in
a volcanic eruption in 1830. The remaining
birds moved to the island stack of Eldey 12 km
closer inshore. The breeding space available
on Eldey was much smaller than that on
Geirfuglasker, but by that time the population
was probably already much reduced. Orni-
thologist Faber visited Geirfuglasker in thc be-
ginning of July 1821 without seeing a single
Great Auk. The colony on the other Geir-
fuglasker in the Westman Islands was aban-
doned in 1800, but judging by its size that site
probably never supported but a small colony.
The available evidence indicates that the Great
Auk population had already crashed ntany dec-
ades before the last birds were killed in 1844.
About 80 Great Auk skins exist in the world
to-day, around 75 eggs, many bone rclics from
middens including whole skeletons, and fi-
nally the bodies of the last two birds. All Great
Auk relics collected in lceland were exported
to collections abroad, except bones in midd-
ens. Prior to 1889 no natural history collec-
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