Puffins are distinctive, colorful seabirds that spend much of their lives on the open ocean, returning to land only for a brief breeding season. These members of the auk family are recognized by their stocky build, tuxedo-like plumage, and the bright, oversized bill they display during the summer. Their geographical range is complex, dictated by the precise habitat needs of each species across the planet’s northern oceans.
Three Types of Puffin
The global puffin population is divided among three distinct species, whose ranges separate them across two major oceanic regions. The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is the only species found in the North Atlantic Ocean, making it the most familiar type to North American and European observers. The remaining two species inhabit the North Pacific Ocean, demonstrating a higher diversity in that region.
Pacific puffins include the Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) and the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). The Horned Puffin is named for the small, dark, fleshy projection above its eye. The Tufted Puffin is the largest of the three, distinguished by long, pale-yellow plumes of feathers that sweep back from its head during the breeding season.
Global Breeding Locations
Puffins congregate in dense, noisy colonies during the summer months, establishing their most geographically concentrated presence on rocky islands and remote coastal cliffs. The Atlantic Puffin boasts the largest population, with an estimated 60% of the world’s breeding pairs located in Iceland, particularly in the Westman Islands. Significant colonies also dot the coasts of Norway, Scotland, and the Faroe Islands in Europe.
Across the Atlantic, the species breeds along the coast of Greenland and in North America, with major colonies in Newfoundland and Labrador, such as the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. The southernmost breeding grounds in the United States are found off the coast of Maine. In the Pacific, the Tufted and Horned Puffins share a range extending from the Aleutian Islands and the Alaskan coast, southward along British Columbia, and down to central California. They also breed on the western side of the ocean, including the coasts of Siberia and northern Japan.
Seasonal Movements and Winter Habitats
Once the breeding season concludes in late summer, puffins leave their colonies for the open ocean. During this non-breeding phase, they become pelagic, meaning they live entirely at sea, often hundreds or thousands of miles from land. This solitary existence contrasts sharply with the social life of the breeding season.
Atlantic Puffins disperse across the North Atlantic, with some moving south to wintering hotspots like the waters south of Iceland and Ireland, or the entrance of the Labrador Sea. Migration distances can be substantial, with individuals traveling over 1,700 kilometers from their nesting sites. Pacific puffins display a similar dispersal pattern, moving far offshore into the Central Pacific, with some wintering as far south as Baja California.
The Necessary Conditions for Puffin Survival
The distribution of puffin colonies is directly linked to two primary ecological requirements: secure nesting sites and a reliable marine food source. For nesting, puffins require isolated, predator-free islands and steep, soft coastal slopes where they can excavate burrows, sometimes over a meter deep, to raise their single chick. Horned Puffins are an exception, often preferring to nest in natural rock crevices and beneath boulders on cliff faces.
The second condition is the presence of cold, nutrient-rich ocean water, which supports the small schooling fish that make up the bulk of their diet. This food source includes species like sand eels (sandlance) and capelin, which puffins catch by diving up to 60 meters. Dependence on specific fish populations means that any change in ocean productivity, such as warming water temperatures, can directly impact a colony’s ability to successfully raise its young.