little auk

American  

[lit-l awk] / ˈlɪt l ˈɔk /

noun

1. a small black-and-white auk, Alle alle, of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, having a very short beak and a short, rounded tail: an important winter food source among the Inuit.

---

Etymology

Origin of little auk

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

little auk

"The little auk, also known as the dovekie, emerges as a sentinel species in monitoring Arctic environmental shifts," says Dr. Anders Mosbech, co-author from Aarhus University.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2024

In the remote wilderness of Northwest Greenland, the research team employed passive acoustic and imaging technologies to uncover the hidden rhythms of little auk colonies.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2024

Looking somewhat like a dove-sized penguin, the little auk is helpless on land.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dovekie, duv′ki, n. the little auk, a diving bird of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

When far off they uttered cries which reminded me of that of the wryneck, and which I at first thought came from a little auk.

From Farthest North Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship 'Fram' 1893-1896 by Nansen, Fridtjof