Atlantic puffin's article
Introduction 
puffins are any of three species of small Alcids ( auks) in the bird genus Fratercula . these are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. they breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands , nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil . two species , the tufted puffin and horned puffin , are found in the north pacific ocean , while the Atlantic puffin is found in north Atlantic ocean . all puffin species have predominantly black and white plumage ,a stocky build and large beaks that get brightly coloured during breeding season . they shed the colourful outer parts of there bills after the breeding season . leaving a smaller and duller beak . their shot wings are adapted for swimming with a flaying technique under water .in the air . they beat there wings rapidly ( up to 400 times per minute )in swift flight , often flaying low the ocean's surface . taxonomy the genus Fratercula was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the Atlantic puffin as the type species the name Fratercula is Latin for "little brother " a reference to the black and white plumage , which resembles monastic robes .the English name "puffin" - puffed in the sense of swollen was original applied to the fatty , salted meat of young birds of the unrelated Manx shearwater , formerly known as the "Manks puffin " puffin is an Anglo Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling Manx shear shearwaters . the genus contain three species . the rhinoceros auklet has sometimes been included in the genus Fratercula, and some author place the tufted puffin in the genus Lunda . the puffins and the rhinoceros auklet are closely related , together composing the subfamily Fraterculini . the oldest oldest Alcid fossil is Hydrotherikornis from Oregon dating to the late Eocene while fossils of Aethia and uria go back to the late Miocene . Molecular clocks have been used to suggest an origin in the pacific in the paleocene . fossils from north carolina were originally thought to have been of two Fratercula species , but were later reassigned to one fratercula , the tufted puffin , and a Cerorhinca species . another extinct species , Dow's puffin was found on the channel island of California until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene . the Fraterculini are thought to have originated in the pacific primarily because of their greater diversity there , there is only one extant species in the Atlantic , compared to two in the pacific . this species has show some significant signs of animal intelligence . on January 2020 , some researchers reported that , Atlantic puffins were seen using sticks as a tool to scratch themselves . the Fraterculini fossil record in the Pacific extends at least as far back as the middle Miocene , with three fossil species of Cerorhinca , and material tentatively referred to genus ,in the middle Miocene to late pliocene of southern California and northern Mexico . Although there no records from the Miocene in the Atlantic , a re- examination of the north Carolina material indicated that the diversity of puffins in the early Pliocene was as great in the Atlantic as it is in the pacific today . this diversity was achieved through influxes of puffins from the pacific , the later loss of a species was due to major oceanographic changes in the late Pliocene due to closure of the Panamanian Seaway and the onset of severe glacial cycles in the north Atlantic . Description the puffins are stocky , short - winged , and short - tailed birds , with black upper parts and white or brownish - grey underparts . the head has a black cap , the face is mainly white , and the feet are orange red . the bill appears large and colourful during the breeding season , revealing a smaller and duller true bill beneath . Although the puffins are vocal at their breeding colonies , they are silent at sea . they fly relatively high above the water , typically 10 m as compared with the 1.6 m of other auks .
Breeding
puffins breed in colonies on coasts and island , several current or former island breeding sites are referred to as puffin island . the male Atlantic puffin builds the nest site fidelity . both sexes of the horned puffin help to construct there nests . horned puffin burrows are usually about 1 meter deep , ending in a chamber while the tunnel leading to a tufted puffin burrow may be up to 2.75 meters long . the nesting substrate of the tufted and Atlantic puffins is soft soil , into which tunnels are dug , in contrast , the nesting sites of horned puffins are rock crevices on cliffs . the Atlantic puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass , leaves , and feathers but is occasionally unlined . the eggs of the Atlantic puffin are typically creamy white but the occasional egg is tinged lilac . where rabbits breed . sometimes Atlantic puffins breed in rabbits burrows . puffins form long - term pair bonds or relationships . the female lays a single egg , and both parents incubate the eg and feed the chick . the incubating parents holds the egg against its brood patch with its wings . the chicks fledge at night . after fledging , the chicks spend the first few years of their lies at sea . returning to breed bout five years later . puffins i captivity have been known to breed as early as three years of age . after breeding , all three puffins species winter at sea , usually far from coasts and often extending south of the breeding range . Iceland is the home to most of the Atlantic puffins with about 10 million individuals . the largest single puffin colony in the world is in the Westman isles of Iceland . in 2009 , scientists estimated the number of nests to be 1.1 million , and number of individuals there is estimated to be up to 4 million . Feeding
puffins are any of three species of small Alcids ( auks) in the bird genus Fratercula . these are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. they breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands , nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil . two species , the tufted puffin and horned puffin , are found in the north pacific ocean , while the Atlantic puffin is found in north Atlantic ocean . all puffin species have predominantly black and white plumage ,a stocky build and large beaks that get brightly coloured during breeding season . they shed the colourful outer parts of there bills after the breeding season . leaving a smaller and duller beak . their shot wings are adapted for swimming with a flaying technique under water .in the air . they beat there wings rapidly ( up to 400 times per minute )in swift flight , often flaying low the ocean's surface . taxonomy the genus Fratercula was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the Atlantic puffin as the type species the name Fratercula is Latin for "little brother " a reference to the black and white plumage , which resembles monastic robes .the English name "puffin" - puffed in the sense of swollen was original applied to the fatty , salted meat of young birds of the unrelated Manx shearwater , formerly known as the "Manks puffin " puffin is an Anglo Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling Manx shear shearwaters . the genus contain three species . the rhinoceros auklet has sometimes been included in the genus Fratercula, and some author place the tufted puffin in the genus Lunda . the puffins and the rhinoceros auklet are closely related , together composing the subfamily Fraterculini . the oldest oldest Alcid fossil is Hydrotherikornis from Oregon dating to the late Eocene while fossils of Aethia and uria go back to the late Miocene . Molecular clocks have been used to suggest an origin in the pacific in the paleocene . fossils from north carolina were originally thought to have been of two Fratercula species , but were later reassigned to one fratercula , the tufted puffin , and a Cerorhinca species . another extinct species , Dow's puffin was found on the channel island of California until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene . the Fraterculini are thought to have originated in the pacific primarily because of their greater diversity there , there is only one extant species in the Atlantic , compared to two in the pacific . this species has show some significant signs of animal intelligence . on January 2020 , some researchers reported that , Atlantic puffins were seen using sticks as a tool to scratch themselves . the Fraterculini fossil record in the Pacific extends at least as far back as the middle Miocene , with three fossil species of Cerorhinca , and material tentatively referred to genus ,in the middle Miocene to late pliocene of southern California and northern Mexico . Although there no records from the Miocene in the Atlantic , a re- examination of the north Carolina material indicated that the diversity of puffins in the early Pliocene was as great in the Atlantic as it is in the pacific today . this diversity was achieved through influxes of puffins from the pacific , the later loss of a species was due to major oceanographic changes in the late Pliocene due to closure of the Panamanian Seaway and the onset of severe glacial cycles in the north Atlantic . Description the puffins are stocky , short - winged , and short - tailed birds , with black upper parts and white or brownish - grey underparts . the head has a black cap , the face is mainly white , and the feet are orange red . the bill appears large and colourful during the breeding season , revealing a smaller and duller true bill beneath . Although the puffins are vocal at their breeding colonies , they are silent at sea . they fly relatively high above the water , typically 10 m as compared with the 1.6 m of other auks .
Breeding
puffins breed in colonies on coasts and island , several current or former island breeding sites are referred to as puffin island . the male Atlantic puffin builds the nest site fidelity . both sexes of the horned puffin help to construct there nests . horned puffin burrows are usually about 1 meter deep , ending in a chamber while the tunnel leading to a tufted puffin burrow may be up to 2.75 meters long . the nesting substrate of the tufted and Atlantic puffins is soft soil , into which tunnels are dug , in contrast , the nesting sites of horned puffins are rock crevices on cliffs . the Atlantic puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass , leaves , and feathers but is occasionally unlined . the eggs of the Atlantic puffin are typically creamy white but the occasional egg is tinged lilac . where rabbits breed . sometimes Atlantic puffins breed in rabbits burrows . puffins form long - term pair bonds or relationships . the female lays a single egg , and both parents incubate the eg and feed the chick . the incubating parents holds the egg against its brood patch with its wings . the chicks fledge at night . after fledging , the chicks spend the first few years of their lies at sea . returning to breed bout five years later . puffins i captivity have been known to breed as early as three years of age . after breeding , all three puffins species winter at sea , usually far from coasts and often extending south of the breeding range . Iceland is the home to most of the Atlantic puffins with about 10 million individuals . the largest single puffin colony in the world is in the Westman isles of Iceland . in 2009 , scientists estimated the number of nests to be 1.1 million , and number of individuals there is estimated to be up to 4 million . Feeding
this Behavior is made possible the unique hinging mechanism of their beak . which allows the upper and lower biting edges to meet at any of a number of angles . in 2019 , animal experts observed puffins
, in two separate geographic locations , using sticks to scratch themselves indicating that the seabirds have a basic ability to use tools . Hunting puffins are hunted for eggs , feathers and meat , Atlantic puffins populations drastically declined due to habitat destruction and exploitation during the 19th century and early 20th century . they continue to be hunted in Iceland and the Faroe Islands . the Blasket Islands off the Irish coast of county Kerry saw a serious decline due to harvesting . until the island were abandoned in 1953 , the islanders often lived just above starvation level . as a result , the puffins were hunted in large numbers for food . the Atlantic puffin forms part of national diet in island . where the species does not have legal protection . puffins are hunted by a technique called "sky fishing " which involves catching the puffins in a large net as they dive into the sea . their meat is commonly featured on hotel menus . the fresh heart of a puffin is eaten raw as a traditional Icelandic delicacy . on the small Icelandic island of Grimsey as many as 200 puffins can be caught in a single morning . Related places and products
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