Their conservation status is listed as least concern for horned and tufted puffins, while the Atlantic or ‘common’ puffin is currently classed as vulnerable. The largest puffin colony is in the Westmann Isles of Iceland, with over 1m birds. They breed in colonies on coasts and islands, often referred to as Puffin Island. Puffins are short, and stocky and feed by diving into the water to catch fish and zooplankton. All are small, diving seabirds that spend most of their time roaming the open ocean, returning to land only once a year to nest in burrows on isolated, predator-free islands.įratercula translates to ‘little brother’ and is a reference to their colouration, which superficially resembles the black and white of monastic robes. There are three species within the genus Fratercula the horned puffin, tufted puffin and the iconic Atlantic puffin. The horned and tufted puffins are listed as Least Concern. Outside of the breeding season the beak’s colours fade significantlyīirds of prey, large gull species and mammals including foxes, rats, mink and cats, and seals In the breeding season the beak is brightly coloured with orange, yellow and black regions. Digging burrows that would make the average rabbit jealous? For sure.īlack and white plumage with bright orange legs. Swimming underwater fast enough to catch small fish? Absolutely. They thus can bring more food back to their young compared with other seabirds that tend to swallow and regurgitate meals for their chicks.Puffins are the flamboyant little seabirds that can do it all.įlying thousands of miles over the open ocean for months at a time? Definitely. Their raspy tongues and spiny palates allow them to firm grasp 10 to 12 fish during one foraging trip. Sixty percent of the world’s puffins breed in Iceland.ġ.Puffins are one of the few birds that have the ability to hold several small fish in their bills at a time. Compared with other auks, which tend to stay just a few feet above the sea, puffins usually maintain a cruising altitude of around 30 feet.Ģ.
There are currently eight isles around the world named Puffin Island-so named because they all are or once were home to large colonies of puffins.ģ. Puffins may chatter up a storm at their breeding colonies, but they remain perfectly silent while at sea.Ĥ. Like some penguins, both parents take turns incubating the egg and caring for the chick.ĥ. Puffins lay just one egg per year-and usually with the same mate. A puffin weighs about the same as a can of Coke.Ħ. The puffins’ genus name, Fratercula,comes from the Latin for “little brother.” The name refers to the sea bird’s black and white plumage, which was said to resemble the robes that monks once wore.ħ. The fourth species, the rhinoceros auklet, doesn’t look like the other three – it’s ashen colored, with a rhino-like protrusion during the breeding season.
During the mating season, straw-like feathers protrude from the crown of the tufted puffin’s head. The Atlantic and horned puffins look quite similar, with the exception of a blue-grey triangle at the base of the Atlantic puffin’s beak. There are four species of puffins, three of which are slightly distinguishable from one another. Just before winter sets in, they shed the colorful outer bill, leaving a noticeably smaller and duller-colored beak.ĩ. Puffins only possess Technicolor bills-and their matching orange feet-during the spring breeding season. Searching for them on an Arctic tour is a must.ġ0.
With a colorful bill that seems too perfectly painted to be real, puffins have a photogenic, cartoon-like appeal. Beloved by birders and nature enthusiasts everywhere, puffins are one of the most widely recognized birds of the North.
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