Atlantic Puffin Resting on a Rock, Newfoundland, Canada
The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly colored bill. Also known as the Common Puffin, it is the only puffin species which is found in the Atlantic Ocean. The curious appearance of the bird, with its large colorful bill and its striking piebald plumage, has given rise to nicknames such as '"clown of the ocean" and "sea rooster". The Atlantic Puffin is the provincial bird for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. This species breeds on the coasts of northern Europe, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and eastern North America, from well within the Arctic Circle to northern France and Maine. The winter months are spent at sea far from land - in Europe as far south as the Mediterranean, and in North America to North Carolina. About 95% of the Atlantic puffins in North America breed around Newfoundland's coastlines. The largest puffin colony in the western Atlantic (estimated at more than 260,000 pairs) can be found at the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, south of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[5] Puffin viewing has also started to become popular in Elliston Newfoundland, previously named Bird Island Cove, located near Trinity. Here, puffins have been known to be tame enough to get even 2 or 3 feet away from them.
Size: 3600px × 5400px
Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada
Photo credit: © Perla Copernik / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alcidae, artica, atlantic, atlantico, auk, auks, bay, bird, birds, breeding, canada, clown, coastal, colony, copernik, diving, ecological, frailecillo, fratercula, john, labrador, macareux, moine, newfoundland, north, ocean, perla, plumage, puffin, puffins, reserve, rooster, sea, seabirds, season, social, st., wildlife, witless
