During the breeding season, the Atlantic puffin forms nesting colonies along the coast of the North Atlantic. The birds nest in crevaces among rocks or by burrowing in loose earth. Each mating pair typically lays a single egg between June and July and incubate it for about 42 days. After the egg hatches, the parents care for the young bird until it fledges and sets off to sea on its own, usually under cover of darkness.
Atlantic puffins do not return to land during the non-breeding season. Instead they remain at sea, either flying, swimming, or riding the waves, braving all types of weather until the breeding season when they return to their coastal nesting grounds. To catch their food, Atlantic puffins dive into the water and use their wings to maneouver into position to catch their prey.
- Mass: 490 g
- Length: 28-30 cm
- Diet: small fish, mollusks, crustaceans
- Breeding Season: April - June
- Clutch Size: 1 egg
- Time to Hatching: 42 days
- Time to Fledging: 38-44 days
- Sexual Maturity: 5 years
Classification
Where to See
References
- Lowther, PE, AW Diamond, SW Kress, GJ Robertson and K Russell. 2002. Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. November 19, 2008.
- Street, R. and A. Emily. 1999. Fratercula arctica, Animal Diversity Web. November 19, 2008.
