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Sea BirdsTufted Puffin
Tufted Puffin
Common Name: Tufted Puffin
Scientific Name: Fratercula cirrhata
Description
Tufted Puffins are one of the more heavy-set members of the Alcid family, which makes walking on land clumsy and necessitates a slope to give them enough lift to take off into the air. But, underwater they are truely in their element. They appear to "fly" through the ocean with their strong, pointed wings as they chase after their next meal.
Tufted puffins are one of the most beautiful auks – breeding adults are decorated with huge orange bills, white faces and long yellow feather tufts behind each eye, all of which contrast with their glossy black bodies.
Diet
Diet is the most striking detail of Tufted Puffin biology. Chicks are fed almost entirely on tiny fish. Adults take a more diverse diet compared to other auks that inhabit the open sea- squid and invertebrates are particularly important.
Identification Tips
Length: 12.5 inches
Sexes similar
Immature similar to adult basic but bill is smaller and darker
Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
Medium to large alcid that dives for food from water surface
Very large bill
Entirely dark plumage
Breeds from coastal Alaska to California, pelagic in winter
Adult Alternate
Extremely colorful bill-yellow at base and red at tip
White, triangular face patch
Yellow tufts extending from behind the eye
Adult basic
Duller bill lacks yellow plate at base
Dark face
Lacks obvious tufts
Similar Species
The large bill separates adults from all other alcids except other puffins, both of which have white underparts. Juvenile Tufted Puffins are similar to Rhinoceros Auklets, but are rounder-headed with a slightly different bill shape.
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