The puffins and the rhinoceros auklet are closely related, together composing the subfamily Fraterculini. The oldest alcid fossil is Hydrotherikornis from Oregon dating to the Late Eocene while fossils of Aethia and Uria go back to the Late Miocene. Molecular clocks have been used to suggest an origin in the Pacific in the Paleocene. Fossils from North Carolina were originally thought to have been of two Fratercula species, but were later reassigned to one Fratercula, the tufted puffin, and a Cerorhinca species. Another extinct species, Dow's puffin ( Fratercula dowi) was found on the Channel Islands of California until the Late Pleistocene or early Holocene. The Fraterculini are thought to have originated in the Pacific primarily because of their greater diversity there there is only one extant species in the Atlantic, compared to two in the Pacific. This species has shown some significant signs of animal intelligence. On January, 2020, some researchers reported that, Atlantic puffins were seen using sticks as a tool to scratch themselves. The Fraterculini fossil record in the Pacific extends at least as far back as the middle Miocene, with three fossil species of Cerorhinca, and material tentatively referred to that genus, in the middle Miocene to late Pliocene of southern California and northern Mexico. Although there are no records from the Miocene in the Atlantic, a re-examination of the North Carolina material indicated that the diversity of puffins in the early Pliocene was as great in the Atlantic as it is in the Pacific today. This diversity was achieved through influxes of puffins from the Pacific the later loss of species was due to major oceanographic changes in the late Pliocene due to closure of the Panamanian Seaway and the onset of severe glacial cycles in the North Atlantic. Extant Species Species in taxonomic sequenceģ8 cm (15 in) long, with a 63.5 cm (25.0 in) wingspan, weight 780 g (1.72 lb). Winters south to Honshū and California Ĭhannel Islands of California Late Pleistocene North Pacific: British Columbia, throughout southeastern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and throughout the Sea of Okhotsk. The puffins are stocky, short-winged, and short-tailed birds, with black upper parts and white or brownish-grey underparts. The head has a black cap, the face is mainly white, and the feet are orange-red. The bill appears large and colorful during the breeding season. The colorful outer part of the bill is shed after the breeding season, revealing a smaller and duller true bill beneath. They fly relatively high above the water, typically 10 m (33 ft) as compared with the 1.6 m (5.2 ft) of other auks.īecause of their striking appearance they are also referred to as "clowns of the sea" and "sea parrots".Īlthough the puffins are vocal at their breeding colonies, they are silent at sea. Puffins breed in colonies on coasts and islands several current or former island breeding sites are referred to as Puffin Island. The male Atlantic puffin builds the nest and exhibits strong nest-site fidelity.
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