Page 43 - World of Animals - Issue #29
P. 43
A puffin’s life
With strong wings adapted to flight
both above and below water, puffins
are well equipped for a life at sea
Fast fl ight
Atlantic puffins beat their
wings around 400 times
every minute, and can move
quickly through the air.
Returning to the nest
When hunting for
themselves, puffins will
eat underwater, but when
caring for young chicks
they will carry fish back to
the nest in their beaks.
Tricky take-off
Atlantic puffins are
strong swimmers, but
they are less agile in
the air. To take flight
from the sea, they
need to run along the Floating on the sea
surface using their Puffins are ‘pelagic’
webbed feet.
during the winter,
spending all of their
time out on the
sea, floating on the
surface, flying above,
or diving below.
Built-in
Flying underwater waterproofi ng
The puffins’ wings are Atlantic puffins spend
adapted for use both in and their adult lives floating
out on the ocean, and
out of the water. Penguins,
on the other hand, can only are protected from the
chilly water by layers
‘fly’ in the sea.
of waterproof feathers.
43
