The puffin's distinctive bill has given it the nicknames of 'sea parrot' and 'bottle nose'. Although it looks a bit like a penguin or a parrot, it is actually related to the auk family - its close, larger relatives being razorbills and guillemots.

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Overview

Puffin © Pete + Lynne CC BY-ND 2.0Order: Charadriiformes

Family: Alcidae

IUCN Red List Status:  Vulnerable

Population Trend: decreasing

Distribution: North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean; breeding colonies in Britain are mainly on north and west coasts. Well-known colonies on Skomer Island (Pembrokeshire), Bempton on Humberside and Portland Bill in Dorset.

Habitat: Open sea, grassy cliff-tops and islands, boulders at the foot of steep cliffs.

Description: Stocky build, very large triangular bill which is bright red, blue and yellow in the summer. Black and white plumage; orange, webbed feet.

Size: Body:- 30cm; Wing length:- males, 147 - 170mm. Females, 146 - 168mm. Weight:- males, 345 - 488g. Females, 310 - 345g.

Food: Sand eels in summer. Also whitebait or fish larvae.

The puffin's distinctive bill has given it the nicknames of 'sea parrot' and 'bottle nose'. Although it looks a bit like a penguin or a parrot, it is actually related to the auk family - its close, larger relatives being razorbills and guillemots.

Read More: Breeding

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