PUFFIN BIRDS

These are pelagic seabirds that live in North Pacific and North Atlantic regions. These birds are characterized by having predominantly black-and-white plumage, a large beak, and short wings. They can beat their wings up to 400 times per minute! Their bills are bright colored during the breeding season but become duller in winter.

Figure 1. Fratercula arctica. Image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Southern California.

 They are underwater hunters for fish and small crabs and use their wings as flippers to catch small fish. They swim on the surface or that can dive in order to catch their prey. 

Puffins nest in burrows and live in large colonies along rock coasts and on offshore islands. Puffins can live up to 30 years!

They originated during late Miocene time (about 12 to 10 million years or so) in the North Pacific region and migrated into the northwest Atlantic Ocean and eventually spread southward.  

There are two main species of puffins:

1) Fratercula cirrhata the “Tuffed puffin” has white tufts that curl around their head and a thick red bill. This species lives in the North Pacific region, especially in Alaska.

2) Fratercula arctica the Atlantic puffin (Figure 1) has a black crown, gray cheeks, and a white body. This species lives in the northeast North America but is most prominent in the southern Atlantic region.

Note: There is also a third species of puffins, the “horned” species,” whose occurrence is relatively minor compared to the other two species. This third species lives in the North Atlantic region.

   Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Charadrifformes

Family Alcidae

Genus Fratercula (three species)