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Today on animal fact files we’re talking about puffins. These birds are often viewed as being similar to penguins and while they look and act like penguins in a number of ways, puffins aren’t closely related to penguins at all. In fact, puffins are more closely related to gulls! Puffins are part of a bird family commonly known as the auks. There are three puffin species, the Atlantic puffin, the horned puffin, and the tufted puffin. There is also an auk from a different genus known as the unicorn puffin, but since it’s from a different genus we’ll save them for a future episode of their own. The puffin’s colorful beak has also contributed to them being called “sea parrots” but they aren’t related to those birds either. Puffins live in the northern hemisphere. Atlantic puffins, unsurprisingly, are found along the north Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe while tufted and horned puffins are found along north Pacific coasts of North America and Asia. Well, at least during the breeding season - throughout the rest of the year these birds take to the sea.

Puffins spend most of the year out on the open ocean. During the winter months they may not even be seen. During this time they travel alone and rarely, if ever, take to land. This might seem dangerous. Instead of sitting ducks on the water, they’re sitting puffins, just open for attack from below by any number of mysterious sea creatures. In truth, though, puffins are quite at home on the sea. In fact, during their flight-feather molt, which occurs after the breeding season, puffins are unable to fly for about a month. During this time, they don’t remain on land, they float on the water. This makes sense considering their food comes from the sea. Puffins mostly eat small fish and also take small squids, crustaceans, sea urchins, and mollusks. They’ll dive up to 200 feet (61m) below the waves searching for a meal. Puffins can swim gracefully thanks to their wings which allow a sort of “fight” underwater - again, similar to penguins! Puffins will swim quickly through a school of fish and catch upwards of a dozen in their beaks. During the breeding season, they’ll bring mouthfuls of food to their chicks.

Puffins breed during the summer, coming to coasts or offshore islands in large colonies. These birds are monogamous and may maintain the same partner each year. They’ll whack each other’s beaks together to reestablish their bonds. It’s super romantic. Puffins have sharp claws at the ends of their webbed feet which they’ll use to dig out nesting burrows along cliffs or steeply sloped coasts. These burrows may run up to 7 feet deep! The egg chamber at the end of these burrows may be lined with grass, feathers, or nothing at all. Both the parents work on constructing or remodeling the nest and the female will lay a single egg. The parents will take turns incubating the egg which will hatch about 40 days later. Puffin chicks, called pufflings, are fed by both their parents and about six weeks after hatching they’ll leave the nest to set off on their own. They’ll stumble to the sea in the dead of night and spend the next three to five years at sea until they reach maturity and join their parents in the breeding colony.

Puffins are small birds. They stand about 7 inches (18cm) in height which is about equivalent to the height of a paperback novel. In weight, they are approximately 500g, or close the weight of a soda can. Not only are these little birds bullied by other larger birds like gulls and skuas, they may also be hunted by hawks, eagles, foxes, rats, humans, and domestic cats. Puffin populations are also decreasing due to failed breeding seasons during warmer years. If they can survive these challenges, they may live to be twenty years old! These little birds are well known for their unique, colorful appearance, but they don’t always look this way. After the breeding season has ended and partners part ways, these birds take on their winter plumage which makes them almost indistinguishable from their vibrant, summer selves.

For more facts on puffins, check out the links in the description. Thank you to trashpit and rexy for today’s request. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.