The generic name Fratercula comes from the Medieval Latin fratercula, friar, a reference to their black and white plumage, which resembles monastic robes. Two other species are known from the northeast Pacific, the tufted puffin ( Fratercula cirrhata) and the horned puffin ( Fratercula corniculata), the latter being the closest relative of the Atlantic puffin. The Atlantic puffin is the only species in the genus Fratercula to occur in the Atlantic Ocean. The rhinoceros auklet ( Cerorhinca monocerata) and the puffins are closely related, together composing the tribe Fraterculini. It is in the auk family, Alcidae, which includes the guillemots, typical auks, murrelets, auklets, puffins, and the razorbill. The Atlantic puffin is a species of seabird in the order Charadriiformes. It is the official bird of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The puffin's striking appearance, large, colourful bill, waddling gait, and behaviour have given rise to nicknames such as "clown of the sea" and "sea parrot".
PUFFIN EGGS FULL
Sometimes, a bird such as an Arctic skua or black back gull can cause a puffin arriving with a beak full of fish to drop all the fish the puffin was holding in its mouth. They swim away from the shore and do not return to land for several years.Ĭolonies are mostly on islands with no terrestrial predators, but adult birds and newly fledged chicks are at risk of attacks from the air by gulls and skuas. After about 6 weeks, they are fully fledged and make their way at night to the sea. Chicks mostly feed on whole fish and grow rapidly. It nests in clifftop colonies, digging a burrow in which a single white egg is laid. Spending the autumn and winter in the open ocean of the cold northern seas, the Atlantic puffin returns to coastal areas at the start of the breeding season in late spring. Puffins from northern populations are typically larger than in the south and these populations are generally considered a different subspecies. The juvenile does not have brightly coloured head ornamentation, its bill is narrower and is dark-grey with a yellowish-brown tip, and its legs and feet are also dark. The juvenile has similar plumage, but its cheek patches are dark grey. The external appearances of the adult male and female are identical, though the male is usually slightly larger. It moults while at sea in the winter, and some of the brightly coloured facial characteristics are lost, with colour returning again during the spring. Its broad, boldly marked red-and-black beak and orange legs contrast with its plumage. This puffin has a black crown and back, pale grey cheek patches, and white body and underparts. At sea, it swims on the surface and feeds on small fish and crabs, which it catches by diving under water, using its wings for propulsion. On land, it has the typical upright stance of an auk. Although it has a large population and a wide range, the species has declined rapidly, at least in parts of its range, resulting in it being rated as vulnerable by the IUCN. It is most commonly found on the Westman Islands, Iceland. The Atlantic puffin breeds in Russia, Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and the Faroe Islands, and as far south as Maine in the west and France in the east. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin, are found in the northeastern Pacific.
The Atlantic puffin ( Fratercula arctica), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family.
Breeding range (orange) and winter range (yellow)
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