Atlantic puffin

Fratercula arctica · The Atlantic puffin is a species of seabird in the auk family that breeds on the coasts of northwest Europe, the Arctic fringes, and eastern North America.

Also called Common puffin.

Atlantic puffin
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Atlantic puffin
Photo: Romaniviatores, CC BY-SA 4.0
Atlantic puffin
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyAlcidae
GenusFratercula
SpeciesFratercula arctica

Where it lives

Breeds on cliffs of Iceland, Norway, Britain and Newfoundland; winters at sea.

Fun facts

  • Atlantic puffins can fly at up to 80 km/h, even though their small wings must beat very rapidly, several times each second.
  • After the breeding season, puffins lose all their flight feathers at once and cannot fly at all for a month or two.
  • A puffin can hold a whole row of small fish in its beak at once, pinning them with its grooved tongue and the beak's inward-facing serrations.
  • Puffins use their wings like paddles to "fly" underwater, and can stay submerged for up to a minute.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).