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  Profile

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  In flight

Seabirds

Atlantic Puffin

Fratercula arctica

• uncommon
• 80 km/h
• Vulnerable

The clown of the sea waddles up with your message and a beak full of fish.

Population

~12–14 million mature individuals globally, Europe hosting over 90%

Habitat

clifftop and grassy-slope burrow colonies on coastal islands; open ocean the rest of the year

Fun fact

Backward-facing spines on its tongue and palate let it hold a dozen or more small fish crosswise in its bill while still catching more.

Range

North Atlantic — Iceland, Norway, UK and Ireland, Faroes, Greenland, and eastern Canada/Maine

Diet

small schooling fish (sand eels, herring, capelin, sprats), occasionally crustaceans

Size

0.29 m

Wingspan

0.55 m

Lifespan

36 years