About the Atlantic Puffin

The Atlantic puffin is an instantly recognisable bird, with its black and white body and bright orange beak. Their personalities and charm are evident as they live their summer lives on the cliffs and islands around the UK.

Puffins are plump little birds, standing just 20cm tall and weighing in at 400g. They have long orange legs with webbed feet and tiny black claws. However, their most striking feature is their bright orange, red and grey bill.

Interesting things about puffins you need to know:

While their beaks are amazing in daylight, under UV light, they glow. The reason why is unknown.

When they return to their burrows after time at sea, they find their partner by smell.

Puffins flap their wings over 400 times a minute.

The Icelandic name for a puffin is Lundi, and several UK islands where puffins are found have a variation of this word in their name (e.g. Lundy Island, Lundey Island).

Collective noun: circus – fitting for their antics and nickname ‘clowns of the sea’.

Feeding

Puffins travel out to sea to fish, returning with bills full of sand eels. Their beaks have backwards-facing barbs to hold the fish in place. The record is 62 fish in one bill.