Page 42 - World of Animals - Issue #29

Atlantic puffin

Life at sea

Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives out on the waves

Atlantic puffins are usually spotted on steep, inaccessible clifftops With their black and white colouring, puffins look a bit like
during the spring and summer when they come ashore to breed, penguins, but the similarities don’t end there. Puffins play a similar
but these vast colonies don’t remain together for long. Puffins are ecological role in the Northern Hemisphere to that of penguins
seabirds, and spend most of their time out on the Atlantic Ocean. in the Southern Hemisphere, both spending their time out at sea
During the winter, the puffins spread far and wide across catching fish and returning to land to breed, often mating for life.
the North Atlantic, landing on shores miles from their breeding However, a key difference sets the birds apart; unlike penguins,
grounds. Using a combination of swimming, flying and floating, which cannot fly, puffins are smaller and more compact, allowing
they are able to survive far away from the coast. them to get airborne. Their stocky bodies and short wings make
Tracking the birds after they disperse is challenging, so we know them clumsy in the air, but by rapidly beating their wings, Atlantic
relatively little about their behaviour during this time, but they are puffins can fly at speeds of 88 kilometres (55 miles) per hour.
well suited to their ocean environment. The puffins preen their For a short period each year, Atlantic puffins become flightless.
feathers often, coating themselves in water-repelling oil, and their After the breeding season ends, the birds molt in preparation for
rounded bodies float easily on the surface of the water. the winter, beginning with their beaks and face, and followed by
They are adapted for swimming, and are exceptional their primary and secondary flight feathers. Not much is known
underwater hunters, diving to depths of up to 60 metres (196 about this process in Atlantic puffins, but their close relatives, Using their beaks
feet) in search of fish. The puffins fly underwater, using their tufted puffins, become flightless for around a month while they and feet, Atlantic
powerful wings to streak through the ocean in search of food. wait for their new feathers to grow in. At this point, the puffins will puffins build
They use their webbed feet as rudders, and are able to scoop up be at the mercy of the sea, and particularly vulnerable to storms, burrows where
they will lay and
dozens of fish in their beaks before returning to the surface for air. oil slicks and water pollution. incubate eggs

Most of our knowledge of sea
turtles comes from egg-laying
females and their hatchlings

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