Page "Great Auk" Paragraph 39
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Wikipedia
The last colony of Great Auks lived on Geirfuglasker ( the " Great Auk Rock ") off Iceland.
This islet was a volcanic rock surrounded by cliffs which made it inaccessible to humans, but in 1830 the islet submerged after a volcanic eruption, and the birds moved to the nearby island of Eldey, which was accessible from a single side.
When the colony was initially discovered in 1835, nearly fifty birds were present.
Museums, desiring the skins of the auk for preservation and display, quickly began collecting birds from the colony.
The last pair, found incubating an egg, was killed there on 3 July 1844, on request from a merchant who wanted specimens, with Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson strangling the adults and Ketill Ketilsson smashing the egg with his boot.
Great Auk specialist John Wolley interviewed the two men who killed the last birds, and Ísleifsson described the act as follows:
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