Puffin
The Atlantic puffin is a compact seabird of the North Atlantic, best known for the bold orange and yellow bill it develops each breeding season. For most of the year it lives entirely at sea, riding out storms and diving to catch sand eels, capelin and sprat. It can carry a remarkable number of fish at once, held crosswise in the bill by specialized spines on its tongue. Each spring, adults return to the same coastal cliffs and islands where they dig or reuse burrows and raise a single chick known as a puffling. Pairs tend to reunite with the same partner year after year. Once the chick is ready, it heads to sea alone and will not return to land for several years. Populations across the North Atlantic are declining, largely because warming oceans are reducing the availability of their prey fish.
Habitat and distribution
Atlantic puffins breed on rocky islands and steep coastal cliffs around the North Atlantic. Iceland hosts the largest share of the global population, with the Westman Islands alone supporting hundreds of thousands of pairs. Other major breeding sites include the coasts of Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Newfoundland in Canada. Smaller colonies exist in France, Spain, the Faroe Islands and parts of the eastern United States. Outside the breeding season, puffins abandon land entirely and spend the winter months far out at sea, often in the middle of the North Atlantic. They ride out rough weather on the water and come ashore only when it is time to breed again. Young birds may spend two to three years at sea before they first return to a colony.
Diet
Fish make up almost the entire diet of the Atlantic puffin. Sand eels are by far the most important prey across most of its range, but puffins also hunt capelin, sprat, herring and small amounts of squid depending on what is available locally. To catch fish, a puffin dives beneath the surface and uses its wings to propel itself through the water, almost as if it were flying underwater. Most dives reach depths of around 20 to 30 metres, though deeper dives have been recorded. One of the most striking things about puffins is their ability to hold many fish in the bill at once. Rows of spines on the tongue and the roof of the mouth grip each fish firmly so the bird can open its bill to catch more without losing what it already has.
Breeding
Each spring, adult puffins return to breeding colonies and most reunite with the same partner from the previous year. Pairs nest in burrows, which they either dig into soft soil on clifftops or take over from rabbits. On rockier ground, they may tuck into crevices instead. Each pair raises just one chick per season. The egg is incubated by both parents for around 39 to 45 days, and once it hatches the adults take turns bringing fish to the burrow. The chick, called a puffling, grows quickly and is ready to leave after about six weeks. It departs the colony alone, usually at night, and heads straight for the open sea. It will not return to land for at least two years, and will not breed until it is around five years old.
Behavior
For the majority of the year, puffins live entirely at sea and are rarely seen from land. They are strong swimmers, using their wings to power through the water and their webbed feet to steer. On the surface they sit low in the water and are remarkably tolerant of rough seas. In the air, puffins beat their wings at up to 400 times per minute, which keeps them airborne but makes them look slightly frantic in flight. They are colonial birds during the breeding season and can gather in large groups called rafts on the water near a colony. Their bold bill coloring, which develops before each breeding season and fades afterward, is thought to play a role in attracting a mate. Outside the breeding season the bright plates on the bill are shed and the face becomes darker.
Conservation
The IUCN lists the Atlantic puffin as Vulnerable, reflecting a broad decline in populations across much of its range over recent decades. The main driver is the reduction in prey fish, particularly sand eels, linked to rising sea temperatures that shift the distribution of the cold water plankton these fish depend on. When food becomes scarce, adults struggle to raise chicks successfully and breeding failure rises. Puffins also face threats from plastic pollution at sea, oil spills and accidental capture in fishing nets. Some colonies, particularly in Iceland and Norway, have seen dramatic drops in numbers. Conservation efforts include the protection of nesting sites and programs in places like Maine in the United States, where puffins were successfully reintroduced to islands from which they had disappeared.
Technical factsheet
Where it is found
The Puffin can be found in places such as:
Frequently Asked Questions
What do puffins eat?
Puffins feed almost entirely on small fish. Sand eels are their main prey, but they also catch capelin, sprat and herring depending on where they are. What makes them remarkable is how many fish they can carry at once. Spines on the tongue and the roof of the mouth grip each fish in place, so the bird can keep catching more without dropping the ones it already has.
Where do puffins live?
Puffins are found across the North Atlantic. During the breeding season they nest on rocky islands and coastal cliffs in Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, among other places. Iceland holds the largest share of the world population. For the rest of the year they live entirely out at sea, far from land, and only come ashore when the time to breed arrives again.
Can puffins fly and swim?
Yes, puffins do both, though neither looks effortless. In the air they flap their wings up to 400 times per minute just to stay airborne, giving them a frantic appearance in flight. Underwater they are much more graceful, using their wings to swim and their webbed feet to steer, almost as if flying through the sea. Most dives reach around 20 to 30 metres below the surface.
Why do puffins have colorful beaks?
The bright orange and yellow bill develops each spring, just before the breeding season begins. Scientists believe it plays a role in attracting a mate, since the intensity of the coloring may signal the health of the bird. Once the season ends, the colorful outer plates of the bill are shed and the beak becomes much duller. So the striking look people associate with puffins is really only on display for part of the year.
Are puffins endangered?
Puffins are currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, which means they are at risk but not yet critically so. Populations have dropped significantly across parts of their range, especially in Iceland and Norway. The biggest problem is the decline in small fish like sand eels, driven by warming seas. Plastic pollution, oil spills and accidental capture in fishing nets also add pressure to a species already under strain.
Do puffins mate for life?
Puffins tend to return to the same partner year after year, though the bond is tied to the nesting site rather than being constant through the winter. Since both birds spend months apart at sea, they reunite at the colony each spring and usually pick up where they left off. It is not quite the same as mating for life in the strictest sense, but long partnerships are genuinely common among them.
How long do puffins live?
Atlantic puffins can live for more than 20 years in the wild, and some individuals have been recorded reaching their late twenties. They are slow to mature, not returning to a colony until they are around two to three years old and not breeding until about age five. That slow start means a long life is important for the species, as each pair only ever raises one chick per year.