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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
tufted
puffin |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Charadriiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Alcidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Fratercula
cirrhata |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
In
adult breeding plumage, the tufted puffin has glossy
black feathers on its body, a white face, a yellow
and orange vertically compressed bill, and long
yellow tufts of feathers behind each eye. |
| MALE |
Males
tend to grow slightly larger than females. |
|
| SIZE: |
This
is the largest of the puffins, reaching lengths
of 38 cm (15 in.) |
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| DIET: |
Feeds
mostly on small fishes, but diet includes squids,
octopuses, crabs, jellyfish and zooplankton |
|
| INCUBATION: |
Approximately 41 days; both parents will incubate
the egg |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
In
late May, these colonial birds will return to their
burrow nests on the side of cliffs where 1 creamy
white egg is laid. |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
Both
parents feed the charcoal gray chick pieces of fish
until the fledgling is ready to leave the nest for
open ocean. This commonly occurs after 43-51 days. |
|
| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
3-5 years |
|
| LIFE
SPAN: |
20
or more years |
|
| RANGE: |
In
the Northern Pacific, including from the central
California coastline throughout the Pacific Northwest
and across to the coasts of Asia and Japan |
|
| HABITAT: |
Mostly
pelagic during the winter, but nests on cliffs and
steep slopes with rocks or ground soft enough to
burrow in |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Estimated
at 3,000,000 |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Puffins
are members of the Alcidae Family (called alcids).
The alcids are the Northern hemisphere's ecological
counterpart to the penguins. However, unlike penguins,
alcids are typically powerful flyers.
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| 2. |
Puffins
are colonial nesters. During the breeding season,
their bills become intensely colored. |
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| 3. |
Puffins
may dive deeper than 24 m (80 ft.) to catch fish.
Their bills have specialized sharp hooks that help
to hold fish. One puffin was seen holding 62 fish
in its bill at one time. |
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| 4. |
Puffins
are powerful flyers, beating their wings 300-400
times a minute to achieve speeds up to 64 kph (40
mph). |
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| Puffins
and other seabirds are vulnerable to the effects
of El Niño events.
Oil
spills also pose a threat to seabird colonies.
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| |
|
|
|
Harrison, P. Seabirds: An Identification Guide.
Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1983.
|
|
| Harrison,
P. Seabirds of the World: A Photographic Guide.
Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press. 1996. |
|
| Herron
Baird, P. "Optimal Foraging and Intraspecific
Competition in the Tufted Puffin". The Condor.
93: 503-515. 1991. |
|
| Scott,
S.L. (Editor). Field Guide to the Birds of North
America, 2nd Ed. Washington, D.C. National Geographic
Society. 1987. |
| |
Gough,
G.A., Sauer, J.R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification
Infocenter. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center, Laurel, MD.
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.html.
1998. |
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| National
Wildlife Federation: http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/ |
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| Project
Puffin. Audubon society. www.projectpuffin.org |
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| Stirling,
K. "Fratercula cirrhata" (On-line),
Animal Diversity Web. Http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/
Fratercula_ cirrhata.html. 2001. |
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