Atlantic Puffin Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A medium-sized, stout seabird with a short neck, big head, and large triangular bill. It stands in an upright position on land and floats high in the water. The bill grows larger and acquires more grooves as the bird ages. Puffins have fairly short, straight wings and fly with constant, fast wingbeats.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Dovekie, smaller than a Common Murre.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 10.2-11.4 in (26-29 cm)
    • Weight: 10.9-19.4 oz (310-550 g)
    • Wingspan: 20.9 in (53 cm)

  © Fyn Kynd / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Year-round, Atlantic Puffins are black above and white below. Breeding birds have a gaudy black, orange, and yellow bill. During the breeding season the face is grayish white. In the nonbreeding season the face turns darker gray, and the bill sheds its yellow highlights and shrinks slightly. Juveniles have all-dark bills.

• Behavior

  Spends most of its life bobbing on the ocean and diving after small fish. It comes ashore to breed on rocky and sparsely vegetated islands and sea cliffs.
• Habitat

  Atlantic Puffins nest in burrows on rocky islands with short vegetation, and on sea cliffs. They spend the rest of the year at sea.