Puffins can carry several fish back to their nest at a time. HOW MANY FISH CAN A PUFFIN CARRY IN ITS BEAK AT ONE TIME? Parents usually feed the chick several times each day.ħ. Parents carry fish in their bills and either drop them on the burrow floor or pass them to the chick. The young puffins are usually fed fish by their parents. During winter puffins may also eat crustaceans, but their preferred food is fish. Puffin diets vary from colony to colony because of the variety of fish around the breeding islands. The puffin weighs about 500 grams, similar to a can of soda.Īdult puffins mostly eat small fish, such as sand eels, herring, hake and capelin. Puffins are usually 10 inches tall (18 cm), which is about the height of a quart jug of milk. A second connotation of little friar may be drawn from the puffin's sometime habit of holding it's feet together when taking off, suggestive of hands clasped together in prayer. Little brother alludes to 'little friar' referring to the puffin's black and white plumage which is reminiscent of a friar's robes. This name means "little brother of the north" in Latin. The puffin’s scientific name, Fratercula arctica dates back to the last half of the 1800's. Puffins have also been called "clown of the ocean" and "sea parrot" because of their clown-like facial markings and colorful beak (more like that of toucans). Indeed, they resemble little puff balls with beak and feet. And it is the puffin chick that contributes best to this name because of its round, puffed look resulting from its dense cover of down feathers - an adaptation for retaining body heat while the parent is off fishing. HOW DID PUFFINS GET THEIR NAME? The word puffin is thought to be derived from the word ‘puff’ which refers to swollen.
Most of the world’s puffins are found in Iceland, where sixty percent of the population breeds.Ĥ. In Europe, they nest south to the Brittany Coast of France, northwards to Iceland, Greenland, and Northern Russia. In North America, they nest from Labrador/Newfoundland to the Northeastern United States. WHERE ARE ATLANTIC PUFFINS FOUND IN THE WORLD? Atlantic Puffins are found exclusively in the North Atlantic Ocean. HOW MANY ATLANTIC PUFFINS ARE THERE IN THE WORLD? Estimates range from 3 to 4 million pairs.ģ. Probably winters in inshore and offshore waters from breeding colonies south to southern California. Range: Breeds sparingly on Aleutian Islands and more abundantly from Alaska Peninsula south along coast to central California, where its populations are increasing. This puffin usually comes to land at night. During the breeding season a pale knob projects upward from the base of the upper mandible giving a Rhinoceros-like appearance to its otherwise more narrow and shallower bill. Also, on northern coast of Asia.ĭ) Rhinoceros Auklet: Although this Puffin differs noticeably in outward appearance from the other three species of puffin (which accounts for its misnaming), this sooty-brown bird is anatomically still a puffin. Range: This species of puffin breeds from northwestern Alaska south along coast to central California, and winters at sea throughout the North Pacific. Also on northern coast of Asia.Ĭ) Tufted Puffin: The Tufted Puffin is the largest puffin and is characterized by long, straw-colored feathers that extend back from its crown during the mating season. Irregular spring records from Washington, Oregon, and California. Winters far at sea south to waters off California. Range: Breeds from northwestern Alaska south along coast to Alaska-British Columbia border. The Horned Puffin receives its name from the horny projections that extend above its eyes. Range: See answer to question #3, below.ī) Horned Puffin: The Horned Puffin looks similar to the Atlantic Puffin however it is easily distinguished by its mostly yellow bill with orange tip (missing blue/gray section towards base of bill). It is the smallest of the puffins and is readily separated from the similar Horned Puffin by the steel-blue triangle at the base of its beak. They are:Ī) Atlantic Puffin: The Atlantic Puffin (formerly Common Puffin) lives in the North Atlantic. Puffins belong to the Alcidae (Auk) family of seabirds.There are 4 species of puffins.
HOW MANY SPECIES OF PUFFINS LIVE IN THE WORLD?
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