WHAT do humans have in common with Great Auks?
The answer is revealed by Sheffield University academic Prof Tim Birkhead in his informative, entertaining and fast-paced new book about a bird that has been extinct since 1844.
In his spicy cameo on how male and female are likely to have engaged, he writes: "Stepping forward, he wraps his head and neck around her's, and together they rumble and purr in an ecstatic tactile embrace.
"They inhale each other's deep musky odour much as humans do . . "
What happens next? Well you will just have to buy the book to find out (and be assured, it will be money well spent!)
There have been plenty of other volumes about the demise of the Great Auk, including a novel by best-selling children's author Enid Blyton - see previous blog).
But, as an acclaimed scientist as well as an historian, Prof Birkhead brings a new dimension of understanding to the subject and its tragic demise.
Through his long research into those auk species, such as the Razorbill and the Guillemot, that have survived (at least to 2025), he understands what must have made the Great Auk tick - its courtship, breeding, feeding, distribution and much else, not least its vulnerability to the motivations and destructive activities of man.
Other birds whose extinction has been brought about by man include the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon.
But that of the Great Auk is particularly poignant in our islands because it probably once flourished off the coast of the Scotland, most definitely in The Orkneys where the last British survivors were brutally killed,
In piecing together his narrative, the author's journey of exploration also led him to investigate the motivations and trading activities of those - it is a huge male-dominated cast - who once collected the eggs and skins of this wondrous bird.
Despite his high standing in the academic and ornithological world, there is nothing in the slightest that is pompous about the literary style of Prof Birkhead (who, incidentally, is a world authority on avian promiscuity).
He writes in a most engaging way, occasionally digressing, as, for instance, when he makes one statement that, despite being completely obvious, somehow manages to resonate: "People can be clever in different ways."
How very reassuring to read such words for those of us who have not managed to scale the same intellectual heights as the author.
Lavishly illustrated, The Great Auk is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Sigma at £25.
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