Suomi
Svenska
Polski
Čeština
Slovenčina
Norsk
Dansk
Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica
Identify the Atlantic Puffin by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Atlantic Puffin is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean, a compact seabird with a black back, white underparts, pale grey cheeks, a bright red-and-black bill and orange legs. It spends autumn and winter far out at sea and returns in late spring to coastal cliffs and islands to breed in large colonies. Pairs dig burrows and raise a single chick. It has declined in parts of its range and is listed as Vulnerable.
Did you know?
- A puffin can carry a dozen or more small fish crosswise in its bill at once.
- It is the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.
Voice
About the species
Identification
A smallish black-and-white auk with a broad, flattened, brightly coloured bill in the breeding season and orange-red legs. In winter plumage the bill colours fade and the face darkens; young birds have a narrower, dark bill. It is told from other auks especially by its colourful bill, pale cheeks and upright stance; the sexes look alike.
Family
Alcidae
Size
Large (crow)
Colours
black, white, orange, red, grey
About the habitat
Open northern Atlantic waters in autumn and winter; in late spring and summer grassy coastal cliffs and offshore islands, usually free of mammalian predators, from North America to Europe.
Diet
Mainly small fish such as sand eels, capelin and herring, as well as zooplankton, caught in underwater pursuit dives using its wings for propulsion.
Behaviour
At sea it sits low on the water and dives powerfully to chase prey; on land it stands upright and waddles. It breeds in colonies where pairs dig burrows and lay a single egg; the chick is fed whole fish carried crosswise in the bill and fledges at about six weeks, usually leaving at night. Gulls and skuas harry adults to steal their fish. Outside the breeding season it lives on the open ocean.
Sources
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puffin (Fratercula arctica).jpg
Sound: Unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantic_Puffin_(Fratercula_arctica)_(W1CDR0001416_BD3).ogg
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_puffin
.jpg){kind=link}