It's June 1858 in Rakenas, a small headland on the southwestern coast of Iceland.

29-year-old English explorer and ornithologist Alfred Newton makes his way carefully down a rock-strewn slope

to the black volcanic beach below. Alfred has a limp, and he leans heavily on a cane as he

descends. But his companion, 35-year-old John Woolley, has no such difficulties, and he's already

on the sand. As a cascade of stones skids out from beneath his boots, Alfred slides the last

few feet onto the beach. He catches hold of John's shoulder to stop himself from toppling over.

The two men give each other a small nod and then go to work. They come here looking for something

very rare and special, a flightless bird called the Great

Hawk. This bird was once common along the Atlantic coastlines of Northern Europe and America,

but there have been a few reported sightings in recent years. Alfred and John have spent several

months traveling across Iceland, and they've tracked the last known location of the Great

Hawk to this remote spot. Even at this time of year, the volcanic coastline is buffeted

by cold and stormy weather. But the tall cliffs offer some protection from the wind as the two

men set off in search of the birds. With their long bodies, hooked beaks, and striking black

and white plumage, the great

auks should be easy to spot.

At 30 inches tall, they stand roughly the height of a two-year-old child.

But after searching the shoreline, Alfred and John find no sign of the birds.

As they make their way back along the beach, Alfred's cane strikes something hard and white in the sand.

He bends over to pick it up.

It's a wing bone, bleached by the salt water.

He turns it over to reveal the telltale markings of a hunting knife.

...