Puffin
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 Atlantic
Puffin
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Species
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The common name puffin describes any of three auk species (or alcids) in the bird genus Fratercula (Latin: little brother - probably a reference to their black and white plumage which resembles monastic robes) with a brightly colored beak in the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving. They breed in large colonies, nesting in crevices or burrows.
Puffins are chunky birds with large bills. Their short wings are adapted for swimming under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.
Unlike many animals, puffins mate for life. A pair of puffins will build their nest in cliffs and between boulders. The female will lay a single egg, but both parents will incubate the egg.
Like many auks, puffins eat both fish and zooplankton, but feed their chicks primarily with small marine fishes. The puffins are distinct in their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fishes at a time, crosswise in their bill. This allows them to take longer foraging trips, since they can come back with much more energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.
There are three species:
- F. arctica ( Atlantic Puffin)
- F. corniculata ( Horned Puffin)
- F. cirrhata ( Tufted Puffin)