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.

From Science Daily

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

From BBC

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.

From Scientific American

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg