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Puffin

Fratercula arctica

Not yet photographed by the community

Beloved seabird with its rainbow bill and comical gait.

Species Profile

Red List (Birds of Conservation Concern)

Lifespan: 25–30 years in the wild, with some individuals recorded living into their 40s
Size & Weight: 28–30 cm long, wingspan 47–63 cm; 320–400 g
Habitat: Breeds on rocky coastal cliffs and offshore islands with suitable burrow sites; winters at sea in the North Atlantic.
UK Distribution: Summer breeder (April–August) on northern and western coasts, particularly Scotland, Northern Ireland, and southwest England; migratory, wintering in the Atlantic.
Diet: Small fish, primarily sand eels, sprats, and capelin, caught by diving and swimming underwater.
Prey: Sand eels (Ammodytes species), sprats (Sprattus sprattus), capelin (Mallotus villosus), and other small fish
Predators: Great black-backed gulls, herring gulls, great skuas, and occasionally otters and foxes at breeding colonies
Mating Season: April to August
Breeding: Single clutch of 1 egg per season; incubation period 39–45 days; chick fledges at 38–44 days old
Behaviour: Highly colonial breeder nesting in burrows or rock crevices. Remarkable divers, using wings to propel underwater like penguins. Perform elaborate courtship displays including bill-rubbing and head-shaking with mates.

Did You Know?

•Puffins can hold multiple small fish in their bills simultaneously—up to 60 fish have been recorded in a single catch
•Their distinctive colourful bill develops only during breeding season; it is duller and smaller outside the breeding period
•Both parents share incubation and chick-rearing duties equally
•UK puffin populations have declined significantly since the 1980s, partly due to climate change affecting sand eel availability
•Puffins return to the same breeding burrow and often the same mate year after year, showing strong site and partner fidelity

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