Puffins (genus Fratercula)
are shore birds in the Auk family. They are about the size of a football
and can be found in the atlantic waters off North America and western Europe.
Puffins are remarkable in appearance with their orange legs and
immense, brightly colored bills. Their black and white heads remind one of penguins, tending to give them a quizzical
expression. The Atlantic Puffin is found throughout the North Atlantic
and most of the eastern arctic. It can be seen as far south as the Carolinas
It's Pacific equivalent, the Horned Puffin, ranges from the Bering Sea to the north Pacific.
Tufted
Puffins (genus Lunda) have distinctly different bills from the
true Puffins of the genus Fratercula. They nest from the Bering
Sea all the way to northern California. A Puffins diet consists of small
fish called Smelt. Due to their large bill size, puffins can fit many smelt
into their beaks at one time. Fratercula means "little friar",
a name attached possibly due to the puffins similar appearance to a man
in monk's clothing. Some bird enthusiasts insist though, that the name
comes from the Puffins habit of placing its feet sole-to-sole while in
flight, as if clasping them in prayer.
Why not Sponsor a Puffin with the Adopt-A-Puffin Program through the National Audubon Society. Links to Other Puffin Sites
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