Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica
Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica): The Sea Parrot With a Glowing Beak
The Atlantic puffin is a small black-and-white auk of the North Atlantic, famous for its striped orange, yellow and blue-grey bill. It flies with fast wingbeats, 'flies' underwater to catch sandeels and herring, brings fish home crosswise in its bill, and spends the winter far out at sea.
- Habitat
- Burrows on grassy cliff tops and offshore islands; open ocean in winter
- Size
- 25-33 cm long, 310-550 g, wingspan 47-63 cm
- Diet
- Small fish such as sandeels, herring and capelin, plus some crustaceans
- Range
- North Atlantic, from Maine and Newfoundland to Iceland, Norway, Britain and Russia
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN); Endangered in Europe
- Lifespan
- About 18 years once breeding; oldest ringed bird 42 years
Habitat & range
Atlantic puffins breed around the North Atlantic, from Maine and Newfoundland in the west to Iceland, the Faroes, Norway, Britain, Ireland and north-west Russia in the east ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). Europe holds more than 90% of the world's puffins, and Iceland and Norway together hold about 80% of the European population ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). They nest in colonies on grassy slopes, sea cliffs and rocky islands, usually in burrows dug into the turf. After breeding they leave land completely and spend the winter far out at sea ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica); [Audubon](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/atlantic-puffin)).
How to recognise it
A puffin is a small, upright seabird 25-33 cm long, weighing 310-550 g ([Audubon](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/atlantic-puffin)). In summer it has a black back and collar, white underparts, a pale grey face, bright orange feet and a big triangular bill striped blue-grey, yellow and red-orange. After the breeding season it sheds the outer bill plates, so the winter bill is smaller and duller and the face turns greyer ([Audubon](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/atlantic-puffin)). Under ultraviolet light, parts of the bill glow. Scientists first measured this in 2018 on live puffins in Maine, fitting the birds with custom-made 'sunglasses' to protect their eyes ([Dunning et al. 2019](https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2018.1563771)).
Diet & hunting
Puffins are wing-propelled pursuit divers: they flap through the water and steer with their feet. Most prey is caught within 30 m of the surface, but they can dive to 60 m ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). The main foods are young herring, capelin and sandeels, with some crustaceans and worms ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). The bill lets them keep catching while already holding fish. The average load is about 10 fish per trip, and the British record is 62 at once ([BirdLife International](https://www.birdlife.org/news/2022/04/06/seabird-of-the-month-atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica/)). When feeding chicks, most puffins fish within about 10 km of the colony ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)).
Behavior & adaptations
In the air, puffins flap up to about 400 times a minute and can reach around 88 km/h ([National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/atlantic-puffin)). They usually raise a single chick, called a puffling, deep in the burrow, and do not breed until they are a few years old ([BTO](https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/puffin)). Puffins may even use tools. In 2014 a puffin off Skomer, Wales, was seen scratching its back with a small stick, and in 2018 a camera on Grimsey, Iceland, filmed another scratching its chest with one ([Fayet et al. 2020](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1918060117)). Some scientists think the evidence is too thin to call it true tool use, so the question is still open.
Conservation
The Atlantic puffin has been listed as **Vulnerable** since 2015 and is Endangered within Europe ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). Food shortages linked to warmer seas and fishing pressure on sandeels and herring are the main problem; Norway's biggest colony, Røst, fell from almost 1.5 million pairs in 1979 to 289,000 pairs in 2015. Rats and escaped mink have wiped out colonies on some islands, including in Sweden and Iceland ([BirdLife International](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-puffin-fratercula-arctica)). Puffins can also come back. Audubon's Project Puffin moved 954 chicks from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock, Maine, between 1973 and 1986, hand-fed them in artificial burrows and set out wooden decoys. In 1981 four pairs nested there, the first in about a century ([Project Puffin](https://web.archive.org/web/20120324174250/http://projectpuffin.org/History.html); [Audubon](https://www.audubon.org/magazine/50-years-project-puffin-oral-history-incredibly-audacious-idea)).
Fun facts about Atlantic Puffin
- The British record for fish in one puffin's bill is 62 (BirdLife International).
- Puffin bills glow under UV light, which scientists measured in 2018 (Dunning et al. 2019).
- Puffins shed the colourful outer plates of their bill after the breeding season (Audubon).
- Two wild puffins have been seen scratching themselves with sticks (Fayet et al. 2020).
- The oldest ringed puffin on record reached 42 years (BTO).
Atlantic Puffin vs Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguin wins on sheer size; the puffin escapes by flying away.
People mix them up all the time, but these two black-and-white divers live at opposite ends of the planet: the puffin in the North Atlantic, the [emperor penguin](/animals/emperor-penguin) around Antarctica. In a made-up showdown, size decides it. A puffin weighs 310-550 g ([Audubon](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/atlantic-puffin)), while an emperor penguin can weigh up to 40 kg ([Australian Antarctic Program](https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/penguins/emperor-penguin/)), dozens of times heavier. The puffin has one trick the penguin lacks: it can fly. Our verdict: the emperor penguin wins any shoving match, but the puffin simply takes off.
Read more about Emperor Penguin.
Common questions about Atlantic Puffin
Is a puffin a penguin?
No. Puffins are North Atlantic auks (family Alcidae) (BirdLife International), while penguins such as the emperor penguin live in the Southern Hemisphere and cannot fly (Australian Antarctic Program). Puffins fly, flapping up to about 400 times a minute (National Geographic). Both swim with their wings, hence the likeness.
Why do puffins have colourful beaks?
The bright bill is breeding-season dress. After breeding, puffins shed the outer bill plates, leaving a smaller, duller winter bill (Audubon). Parts of the bill also glow under UV light, which birds can see; scientists suspect it plays a role in courtship, but the purpose is not yet known (Dunning et al. 2019).
How many fish can a puffin carry at once?
Usually about 10 small fish per trip, held crosswise in the bill, and the British record is 62 (BirdLife International). The fish are mostly sandeels, young herring and capelin (BirdLife International).
How long do Atlantic puffins live?
A puffin that reaches breeding age typically lives about 18 years, and the oldest ringed puffin on record reached 42 years and 21 days (BTO). They usually start breeding at around five years old (BTO).
Are Atlantic puffins endangered?
Globally they are listed as Vulnerable (since 2015), and in Europe, which holds most of the world's puffins, they are Endangered (BirdLife International). The main threats are food shortages linked to warming seas and fishing, plus rats and mink on nesting islands (BirdLife International).
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