A genus of seabirds, specifically the great auk or related alcid birds that are adept divers and swimmers in northern oceans.
From Icelandic 'alka,' referring to the great auk, a now-extinct flightless diving bird. The word entered scientific nomenclature through ornithology when classifying North Atlantic seabirds.
The great auk was the 'penguin of the north,' perfectly designed for diving and flightless like penguins—but unlike penguins which survived, humans hunted the last great auk in 1844, making it our loss.
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