Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica Scientific name definitions

This species account is dedicated in honor of Kathryn M. Kiplinger, a member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Administrative Board.

The Atlantic Puffin is a medium-sized, stout, robust auk. Its sleek, black-and-white plumage contrasts sharply with its large, gaudily colored bill plates and bright-orange legs and feet. Like other puffins, this one gathers to breed on offshore islands and lays a single egg in a burrow dug in the ground or within a rocky crevice. Somewhat clumsy on land and in flight, it is an agile diver while hunting its prey—generally small schooling fish. Able to live into its 30s, the Atlantic Puffin does not breed until it is 3 to 6 years old. Attendance at colonies is highly variable; some days only a few puffins may be present, while at other times masses of birds appear everywhere. Outside of the breeding season, this species heads for the high seas and remains offshore; rarely, some even cross the Atlantic. These winter, at-sea aspects of its life history remain poorly known.

Historically, the Atlantic Puffin in North America was heavily persecuted for eggs, feathers, and food. Many populations suffered drastically, and major conservation initiatives were undertaken to recover populations. Nowadays, the public appears to be endlessly fascinated by puffins. Multimillion-dollar tourism industries have developed near puffin colonies in parts of eastern North America. The rugged scenery of their breeding colonies and their colorful bills and behavioral antics prove an irresistible draw for tourists. In recognition, the Atlantic Puffin is the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador. This public appreciation also made it possible to carry out a large-scale program to reintroduce puffins to two historic sites in the Gulf of Maine. Worldwide, most Atlantic Puffins breed in Iceland. In North America, their current stronghold is Witless Bay, Newfoundland, where over half the continent's population breeds.

The comprehensive work by Michael Harris in Scotland (summarized in 1 Harris, M. P. (1984b). The puffin. Calton, U.K: T. and A. D. Poyser. Close ) is the source of much of our knowledge of this species. Nettleship's (2 Nettleship, D. N. (1972a). Breeding success of the Common Puffin (Fratercula arctica L.) on different habitats at Great Island, Newfoundland. Ecological Monographs 42:239-268. Close ) study on Great Island, Witless Bay, remains a definitive source for many aspects of breeding ecology. North American studies have examined behavior and breeding ecology (3 Pierotti, R. (1983). Gull-puffin interactions on Great Island, Newfoundland. Biological Conservation 26:1-14. Close ; Rice 4 Rice, J. (1985). Interactions of variation in food supply and kleptoparasitism levels on the reproductive success of Common Puffins (Fratercula arctica). Canadian Journal of Zoology 63:2743-2747. Close , 5 Rice, J. (1987). Behavioural responses of Common Puffins to kleptoparasitism by Herring Gulls. Canadian Journal of Zoology 65:339-347. Close ; 6 Creelman, E. and A. E. Storey. (1991). Sex differences in reproductive behavior of Atlantic Puffins. Condor 93:390-398. Close ; Rodway et al. 7 Rodway, M. S., W. A. Montevecchi and J. W. Chardine. (1996a). Effects of investigator disturbance on breeding success of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica. Biological Conservation 76:311-319. Close , 8 Rodway, M. S., H. M. Regehr and J. W. Chardine. (1996b). Population census of breeding Atlantic Puffins at Great Island, Newfoundland in 1993-1994. St. John's, NF: Environ. Conserv. Branch, Can. Wildl. Serv., Atlantic Region. Close , 9 Rodway, M. S., J. W. Chardine and W. A. Montevecchi. (1998a). Intra-colony variation in breeding performance of Atlantic Puffins. Colonial Waterbirds 21:171-184. Close ; 10 Rodway, M. S. and W. A. Montevecchi. (1996). Sampling methods for assessing the diets of Atlantic Puffin chicks. Marine Ecol. Prog. Ser. 144:41-55. Close ; 11 Calvert, A. M. and G. J. Robertson. (2002a). Colony attendance and individual turnover of Atlantic Puffins in Newfoundland. Waterbirds 25:382-387. Close ), food and foraging (12 Brown, R. G. B., and D. N. Nettleship. (1984a). "Capelin and seabirds in the northwest Atlantic." In Marine birds: their feeding ecology and commerical fisheries relationships, 184-194. Ottawa, ON: Can. Wildl. Serv. Close ), and pelagic distribution (13 Brown, R. G. B. (1985). The Atlantic Alcidae at sea. In The Atlantic Alcidae: Evolution, Distribution and Biology of the Auks Inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and Adjacent Water Areas (D. N. Nettleship and T. R. Birkhead, Editors). Academic Press, London, United Kingdom. pp. 383-426. Close ). Reintroduction of the species to the Gulf of Maine is described by Kress and Nettleship (14 Kress, S. W. and D. N. Nettleship. (1988). Re-establishment of Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) at a former breeding site in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Field Ornithology 59:161-170. Close ); current and historical population status is reviewed by Nettleship and Evans (15 Nettleship, D. N., and P. G. H. Evans (1985). Distribution and status of the Atlantic Alcidae. In The Atlantic Alcidae: Evolution, Distribution and Biology of the Auks Inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean and Adjacent Water Areas (D. N. Nettleship and T. R. Birkhead, Editors), Academic Press, London, United Kingdom. pp. 54-154. Close ).