Puffins are seabirds that are a part of the Alcidae family. Puffins can reach speeds of around 90kmh when flying. They can flap their wings up to 400 times in one minute. The lifespan of these birds extends up to 20 years in the wild, and the oldest recorded age of a puffin was 36 years of age.
Diet
Puffins are carnivores, they eat small fish and zooplankton. Mainly puffins eat herrings, sand eels, hake, and capelin. The specific types of fish which are eaten by different puffin species vary due to the different islands that they inhabit.
During the colder months (Winter), puffins will mostly eat crustaceans. Additionally, puffins will also occasionally eat squid and mollusk.
Their beaks are uniquely shaped, which allows them to carry multiple fish sideways in their mouth; this makes them one of the few bird species that can catch a fish in their beak and still continue to catch more fish and hold up to 10 fish each trip. Their beaks are designed to do this efficiently and effectively.
The highest recorded number of fish a puffin was able to carry in its beak was 62 fish at one time. The puffin’s tongue allows it to hold the fish still while it searches for more in the water.
Appearance
Puffins are small in size and have black and white bodies. The tufted puffin has an entirely black body, unlike the other species. All the puffin species have colorful beaks, which include the colors red, yellow, and green. Their beaks are broad, flattened, and triangular in shape.
During the winter months, puffins become a little duller in color, and they brighten up during the warmer breeding season.
Both males and females in the species look very similar, however, the males are slightly larger than the females. This makes it easier to tell whether the puffins are males or females. Puffins are usually 25 centimeters tall and weigh around 500 grams.
Lifestyle
Puffins are sociable animals, just like the other birds which are a part of the alcidae family. A large group of puffins can be referred to as a colony, and these colonies can be made up of a massive number of puffins. The largest documented puffin colony was estimated to have around 4 million individual puffins.
Puffins will stay with the same partner for their entire lives, and they will continue to return to the same nesting area every year together. Their burrows are dug in soft soil, or they find existing holes in the ground to use as their nests.
When a puffin wants to communicate that it doesn’t want any trouble, it will duck its beak down to its own chest and move very quickly away from that location. Portraying the message that it doesn’t want to have any problems, and it is just passing by.
