little auk

[lit-l awk]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of little auk¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Acoustic recordings of a colony of little auks reveal their nocturnal activities and offer valuable monitoring means for avian biology in the Arctic.

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"In the small intestine/of the little auk/we found Mexico City, Manila, Shanghai, New York."

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When autumn arrives, the little auks seek warmer climes, south of the Arctic circle, such as the coasts of the U.K. or Canada’s eastern shores.

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The shores reverberated with the cries of the little auks, cormorants, divers, and gulls.

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When almost in despair there came seal after seal, and scores of arctic dovekies, or little auks in winter plumage.

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