The puffin, often nicknamed the “clown of the sea,” is a species of seabird distinguished by its striking, multicolored beak and upright posture. This member of the auk family (Fratercula) is a master of both flight and underwater pursuit, adapting to the harsh environments of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. Its brightly colored facial features and clumsy waddle on land belie a highly specialized marine existence.
Three Species of Puffin
The genus Fratercula encompasses three extant species, each possessing unique physical markers. The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is the smallest and the only species found in the North Atlantic, recognizable by the triangular, blue-grey plate at the base of its vibrant, red-and-yellow beak. In the North Pacific, two other species dominate: the Horned Puffin (F. corniculata) and the Tufted Puffin (F. cirrhata).
The Horned Puffin is named for a small, fleshy, black spike extending upward from above its eye, contrasting with its mostly white face. The Tufted Puffin is identified by the long, pale-yellow plumes that sweep back from its white face and crown during the breeding season. All three species shed the colorful outer keratin plates of their bills after the breeding season concludes. This leaves them with a smaller, duller-colored beak for the winter months, which may reduce wear and tear while at sea.
Life Cycle and Migration
Puffins are pelagic birds, spending the vast majority of their lives on the open ocean, far from any coastline. They only return to land for the breeding season, typically from late spring through late summer, to join large, social colonies. During the non-breeding season, these birds disperse widely across the ocean, often traveling alone or in small groups while chasing fish populations.
The migratory range is extensive. Atlantic Puffins winter far south of their breeding grounds, sometimes reaching the waters off Morocco. Their Pacific cousins, the Horned and Tufted Puffins, may migrate as far south as Baja California. Juvenile puffins, known as pufflings, remain entirely at sea for the first few years of life, not returning to land until they reach sexual maturity around five years of age.
Specialized Hunting and Diving Adaptations
The puffin’s body is engineered for an aquatic hunting lifestyle, allowing it to dive deep and capture multiple prey items in a single trip. Its relatively short wings, which beat rapidly for flight in the air, are used efficiently as fins to “fly” underwater. The bird uses its webbed feet primarily as rudders to steer while its wings provide propulsion, enabling dives that can reach depths of around 200 feet.
The transport of food back to the colony is facilitated by specialized anatomy. The puffin possesses a unique hinged jaw structure and a tongue lined with backward-facing, sharp spines, known as papillae. These papillae press against the roof of the mouth, allowing the bird to securely hold dozens of small, slippery forage fish, such as sand eels or capelin, crosswise in its bill. This ability to hold multiple fish while continuing to hunt, sometimes called “parading,” maximizes feeding efficiency for its single chick.
Social Structure and Nesting
Puffins are highly social birds when on land, gathering in massive colonies on coastal cliffs and isolated islands during the nesting season. They exhibit strong fidelity to both their mate and their nest site, forming monogamous pair bonds that often last for more than 20 years. Upon returning to the colony, pairs reunite and engage in a courtship ritual called “billing,” where they rub their beaks together.
Most puffin species construct their nests by digging deep burrows into soft soil using their beaks and sharp claws, with tunnels sometimes extending over three feet. The Horned Puffin, however, prefers to nest in natural rock crevices on cliff faces. The female lays a single egg per season, and both parents share the duties of incubation and feeding the resultant chick, or puffling, until it is ready to fledge.