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Puffin

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                    iPuffin
   Atlantic Puffin
   Atlantic Puffin
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Charadriiformes
   Family:  Alcidae
   Genus:   Fratercula
            Brisson, 1760

                                   Species

     * Fratercula arctica
     * Fratercula corniculata
     * Fratercula cirrhata

   For prehistoric species, see article text.

   The common name puffin describes any of three auk species (or alcids)
   in the bird genus Fratercula (Latin: little brother - probably a
   reference to their black and white plumage which resembles monastic
   robes) with a brightly colored beak in the breeding season. These are
   pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving. They breed in large
   colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices
   among rocks or in burrows in the soil.

   Puffins are chunky birds with large bills. They shed the colourful
   outer parts of their bills after the mating season, leaving a smaller
   and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for flying under water.
   In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 100 times per minute)
   in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.

Breeding

   The male Atlantic Puffin builds the nest and exhibits strong nest site
   fidelity. Both sexes of the Horned Puffin help to construct their nest.
   The burrows of the Atlantic and Horned Puffin are usually only about 1
   metre (3 feet) deep, ending in a chamber, but the tunnel leading to a
   Tufted Puffin burrow may be up to 2.75 metres (9 feet) in length. The
   Atlantic Puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass,
   leaves and feathers but is occasionally unlined. The eggs of the
   Atlantic Puffin are creamy white but can be occasionally tinged in
   lilac.

   Unlike many animals, puffins form long-term pair bonds. The female lays
   a single egg, and both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick. The
   incubating parent holds the egg against their brood path with their
   wings. The chicks fledge at night. After fledging, the chicks spend the
   first few years of their lives at sea, returning to breed after three
   to six years.

   Like many auks, puffins eat both fish and zooplankton, but feed their
   chicks primarily with small marine fish. The puffins are distinct in
   their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fishes at
   a time, crosswise in their bill. This allows them to take longer
   foraging trips, since they can come back with more energy for their
   chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.

Species

   Three species are recognized today:
     * Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica
     * Horned Puffin, Fratercula corniculata
     * Tufted Puffin, Fratercula cirrhata

   The genus Fratercula probably evolved in the northern Pacific, like
   most lineages of auks. However, at least 2 undescribed prehistoric
   species are known to have occurred in the western Atlantic
   comparatively soon after the genus' emergence:
     * Fratercula sp. 1 (Yorktown Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
     * Fratercula sp. 2 (Yorktown Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)

   Another extinct species, Dow's Puffin (Fratercula dowi) was found on
   the Channel Islands of California until the Late Pleistocene or Early
   Holocene. It is possible that it became extinct due to overhunting and
   egg-collecting by early human settlers.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffin"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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