Puffins

Puffins

Sea Clowns If you've ever seen a puffin, you're not likely to forget it. Even if you haven't, you probably know what these charming birds look like. Their plump little bodies, black and white feathers, and huge, colorful beaks are funny and unusual. Their appearance is just one of the reasons people enjoy watching and learning about them.

Meet the Puffins Puffins are seabirds-birds that spend most of their lives on the open ocean. They are skillful swimmers that zoom through the water using their wings as flippers and their feet to steer. They can dive 100 feet (30 m) or more and stay underwater for about half a minute. Puffins also fly well and can walk with ease over rocks and soil.

Puffins live in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. From mid-spring through summer, they live in nesting groups on islands and coastal cliffs. During this time of year, the breeding season, they “ dress up" to attract a mate. They have large, colorful beaks, areas of white feathers, and extra feathers for decoration. Also, their webbed feet become bright orange. The rest of the year, while at sea, they are mainly black, white, and gray. The four types of puffins each have features that help people tell them apart.

Atlantic puffins live on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. They are the smallest puffins and the least fancy when they are " dressed up. " Their beak has a bright orange tip and a blue-gray part trimmed in yellow. They have orange feet and a white face, chest, and belly. Adult male and female puffins of each type look alike, but the males may be a bit larger. Young puffins look like non-breeding adults.

Horned puffins live in the North Pacific Ocean, mainly south of the Arctic Circle. During the breeding season, they look like Atlantic puffins with their white face, chest, and belly. However, they have a yellow (instead of blue-gray) area at the base of their beak. They also have a thin group of black " eyelashes" above each eye. The eyelashes make horned puffins look as though they're wearing makeup.