The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a seabird species in the auk family. Also known as the Common Puffin, it is the only puffin species which is found in the Atlantic Ocean. They feed primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans.
This bird is mainly black above and white below, with grey to white cheeks and red-orange legs. The bill is large and triangular and during the breeding season is bright orange with a patch of blue bordered by yellow at the rear.
This Atlantic Puffin breeds on the coasts of northern Europe, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, North America, and even within the Arctic Circle to northern Maine and France.
The population of puffins has started to decline. This may be due to increased predation by gulls and skuas, the introduction of rats, cats, dogs and foxes onto some islands used for nesting, contamination by toxic residues, drowning in fishing nets, declining food supplies, and climate change. I have always been interested in studying puffins ever since my childhood when I would visit my family in Alaska and see paintings of them in houses and museums, and read stories about them.
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Alcidae
Genus: Fratercula
Species: F. arctica
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