Atlantic Puffin

Cute bird Atlantic Puffin

The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird in the auk family. It is a pelagic species that feeds primarily by diving for fish. Its most obvious characteristic is its brightly colored beak during the breeding seasons. It is the only puffin species which is found in the Atlantic Ocean.

They breed on the coasts of northern Europe, Faroe Islands, Iceland and eastern North America, from well within the Arctic Circle to northern France and Maine. The winter months are spent at sea far from land - in Europe as far south as the Mediterranean and in North America to North Carolina.

The Atlantic Puffin is typically silent at sea, except for soft purring sounds it sometimes makes in flight. At the breeding colonies the birds make a deep growl.

Latin name:	Fratercula arctica
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Alcidae
Also Called:	Common Puffin
Size:	13.5 inches (34 cm)
International names:
Lunde (Danish)
Papegaaiduiker (Dutch)
Lunni (Finnish)
Macareux Moine (French)
Papageitaucher (German)
Fratercula Arctica (Italian)
Lunde (Norwegian)
Maskonur (Polish)
Frailecillo Común (Spanish)
Lunnefågel (Swedish)