Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A natty black-and-white seabird with a huge, multicolored bill, the Atlantic Puffin looks like a clown of the sea. It breeds in colonies on rocky islands in the North Atlantic and winters at sea.

Description

• Stocky, large-headed black-and-white bird.
• Large triangular bill colored red, blue, and yellow in summer, but duller in winter.
• White cheek.
• Black back, neck and top of head.
• Legs orange.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Sound

Silent above ground, in breeding burrow makes growling sound like a chainsaw buzzing.

Conservation Status

Heavily exploited for eggs and meat in 1800s and early 1900s. Populations drastically declined, with some colonies eliminated. Currently American population is growing. Reintroduction program in Maine run by National Audubon Society was successful in creating new breeding colonies of the species in that state. For more information, visit Project Puffin.

Other Names

Macareux moine (French)
Frailecillo (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Atlantic Puffin may live to be more than 30 years old. It does not breed until it is three to six years old.
• The bright colors of the Atlantic Puffin make it well loved by people. Boat tours to see puffins are popular near their breeding grounds, and it has been selected to be the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sources used to construct this page:

Lowther, P. E., A. W. Diamond, S. W. Kress, G. J. Robertson, and K. Russell. 2002. Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). In The Birds of North America, No. 709 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.