Atlantic Puffin

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About Atlantic Puffin

It is a species of small seabird in the auk family.
It’s the only puffin species found in the Atlantic Ocean.
Scientific Name: Fratercula arctica
Habitat: It is found on rocky coasts in the Northern Atlantic Ocean during the breeding season and on the open ocean in the non-breeding season.
Geographical Range:
It is a migratory species, spending most of the time traveling back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, returning every breeding season to its native breeding areas.
Sixty percent of the individuals inhabit the coast of Iceland during the breeding season.
It has also been found off the coast of Greenland, the United Kingdom, Eastern Canada, and the Netherlands, as well as Ireland.
Features:
It is a short and stocky diving seabird about 12 inches in length with a wingspan of 20-24 inches.
It is black on its upper sides and white on its chest and belly.
Males and females look alike.
It has bright orange webbed feet; a white face and cheeks; and a large, triangular parrot-like bill that is bright red and yellow.
They fly through the air like most birds, but they also “fly” through the water, using their wings as paddles.
They are also speedy in the air. They flap their wings up to 400 times a minute, speeding along in the air at 55 miles an hour.
Diet: Puffins eat small fish—such as sand eels and herring—which they hunt underwater.

Q1: What is a Seabird?

A seabird can be defined as a bird that makes its living primarily from the ocean, beyond the intertidal or surf zone. Seabirds are beautifully adapted for life in the ocean. Generally, they have dense, waterproof feathers; layers of fat; and a desalinization system to remove excess salt

Source: Arctic puffins evolved into a new species 6 generations ago, but they might be less fit to survive, a new study shows