Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. Just before winter sets in, they shed the colourful outer beak, leaving a noticeably smaller and duller-coloured beak. They only possess Technicolor beaks – and their matching orange feet – during the spring breeding season. Sixty percent of the world’s puffins breed in Iceland.Ī puffin’s beak (or bill) changes colour during the year. The one breeding in Iceland is the Atlantic puffin, the other species are the Horned puffin, Tufted puffin and Rhinoceros Auklet. Here are some interesting facts about this beautiful bird, it’s everything you really need to know about puffins. Puffins can be seen in Iceland from early April until late August. It is a seabird in the auk family that breeds in and around Iceland. The Atlantic puffin has black and white feathers and a large and colourful beak. He is both captivating and peculiar and has been nicknamed ‘Sea Parrot’, ‘Penguin of the North’ and even ‘Clown of the Sea’ and is also known as the Common Puffin. They will fly to the open sea and stay there until they become sexually mature, at the age of 3 to 5 years.Ītlantic puffins can survive up to 20 years in the wild.The Atlantic puffin has become Iceland‘s most precious bird and a tourist attraction. Young chicks learn to fly 45 days after birth. Burrows are located 3 feet underground.įemale lays one egg. They build burrow in the rocky cliffs or on the solid ground between rocks. During this period, large colonies of Atlantic puffins gather in their home grounds.Ītlantic puffins mate for life. Mating season takes place from April to August. They come to the coast only once per year to reproduce. Main predators of Atlantic puffins are black-billed gull and herring gull.Ītlantic puffins spend majority of their lifetime on the sea. It can reach the speed of 55 miles per hour by flapping its wings 400 times per minute. It can dive 200 feet deep and remain submerged for up to one minute.Ītlantic puffin is also very fast flyer. Its webbed feet and strong wings allow fast and precise movement through the water. It hunts sand eels and herrings.Ītlantic puffin is an excellent swimmer. Thanks to this feature, parents can deliver more than one fish to their chick in the nest.Ītlantic puffin feeds on fish. Upper part of the beak has layer of spines designed to hold the fish. Birds become more attractive to the opposite sex when their beaks are brightly colored. It is pale during the winter and more colorful during the spring, when mating season starts. Because of their beaks, Atlantic puffins are also known as "sea parrots" or "clowns of the sea".Ĭolor of the beak changes seasonally. In the past, feathers of Atlantic puffins were used for decoration of hats.Ītlantic puffins have very large and colorful beaks (combination of red, yellow and blue colors). Males are slightly bigger than females.īody of Atlantic puffin is covered with black and white plumage. It weighs 17.5 ounces and can reach 10 inches in length. However, global warming, overfishing, oil spills and hunting decrease the number of Atlantic puffins in the wild.Ītlantic puffin is a small bird. Population of Atlantic puffins is large, composed of nearly 6 million birds. Atlantic puffins spend majority of their life on the sea, with short breaks (during breeding season) on the coast. 60% of all Atlantic puffins live near the Iceland. These birds can be found in the eastern parts of Canada, northern parts of United States, western parts of Europe and northern Russia. Atlantic puffin is a bird that looks like a close relative of penguins even though they are not genetically related.
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