Did you know the name “penguin” belonged to another flightless bird instead of the tuxedo-clad penguins we know today? The name belonged to a bird that became extinct in 1844. Today, we call it the great auk. The great auk roamed the North Atlantic Ocean and sported black and white feathers. As explorers steered their ships into southern oceans, they discovered birds that looked like the northern penguin. They decided to call them penguins, too. We all know these penguins by their peculiar waddle, but each species is unique, especially when it comes to their names.