Puffin

Puffins
Horned Puffins
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Template:Regnum: Animalia Template:Phylum: Chordata Template:Classis: Aves Template:Ordo: Charadriiformes Template:Familia: Alcidae Template:Genus: Fratercula
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Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata

The puffin is an auk (or alcid) of the genus Fratercula with a brightly colored beak in the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving. They breed in large colonies, nesting in crevices or burrows.

Puffins are chunky football-shaped birds with large bills. Their short wings are adapted for swimming under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface. Sailors used to refer to these birds as "sea parrots".

There are three species:

• F. arctica (Atlantic Puffin)
• F. corniculata (Horned Puffin)
• F. cirrhata (Tufted Puffin)