Price
- £5.00
Length
- 60
VENUE: The Auditorium, The Storey, Lancaster
In conversation with Jon Carter
Since 1950 more than 70 per cent of the world’s seabirds have been lost through human activity. The Great Auk was the first species to go. A goose-sized seabird superbly adapted for underwater flight, its life was idyllic prior to human intervention.
When Europeans stumbled upon the Great Auks’ New World breeding colonies in the 16th century, they couldn’t believe their luck. Seabird colonies became fast-food restaurants for hungry sailors for more than two centuries.
The last two were killed in 1844, but the Great Auk’s legacy lived on, with collectors obsessing over their skins, eggs and skeletons through dodgy dealings involving staggering amounts of money. 180 years on, leading ornithologist Tim Birkhead found himself the recipient of the archive of a man who accumulated more Great Auk skins and eggs than anyone else.
Tim Birkhead FRS is an award-winning biologist, writer and emeritus Professor of Behaviour and Evolution at the University of Sheffield. His professional interests span ornithology, evolution and reproductive biology. Tim has written or edited 15 books, including four popular science titles: The Wisdom of Birds, Bird Sense, The Most Perfect Thing and The Wonderful Mr Willughby.
Jon Carter is Media Manager at the British Trust for Ornithology in Norfolk.
AGE GUIDANCE: 16+
PHOTO CREDIT: © K. Nigge
