---
title: "What the sources say about the Atlantic Puffin | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "67 claims from the Atlantic Puffin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/atlantic-puffin/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Atlantic Puffin (*Fratercula arctica*)

> 67 claims from the Atlantic Puffin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Atlantic Puffin](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/atlantic-puffin/)

## Puffin. BTO BirdFacts.

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/puffin

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| often on grassy slopes above cliffs | Puffins are predominantly burrow-nesters using sites within short grassy swards, often located on sloping ground above cliffs. |
| In the British Trust for Ornithology's ringing data, a puffin that reaches breeding age has a typical life expectancy of 18 years | statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data ... Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age 18 years |
| the oldest ringed puffin was 42 years and 21 days old, a record set in 2019 | Maximum age from a ringed bird 42 years, 21 days (set in 2019) (note: BTO's ringing-scheme record; the sentence opens with the British Trust for Ornithology's ringing data, so it is not framed as a world record) |
| and often on grassy slopes above cliffs | Puffins are predominantly burrow-nesters using sites within short grassy swards, often located on sloping ground above cliffs. |
| Many of the burrows are dug by the puffins themselves, but they will also take over burrows from rabbits or Manx shearwaters | Although many of these burrows will have been excavated by the Puffins themselves, they are not averse to taking over burrows from Rabbits or Manx Shearwaters. |
| incubation typically lasts five to six weeks | Incubation Incubation by Female (occ. Male) Typical duration 36-43 days (note: 36 to 43 days is five to six weeks; Audubon gives 36-45 days, usually 39-42) |
| adults weighed in Britain average about 390 grams | All adults 386.9±40.1 g (325-450 g, N=467) (note: BTO biometrics from live British birds, replacing Audubon's 310-550 g (#185)) |
| It usually first breeds at about five years old | Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age 18 years with breeding typically at 5 years (note: re-pointed from Audubon to BTO ringing data (#185)) |

## Puffin. The Wildlife Trusts.

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/seabirds/puffin

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| stretches 26 to 29 centimeters long with a wingspan of 47 to 63 centimeters | Length: 26-29cm Wingspan: 47-63cm (note: current page refuses scripts and Chrome (Cloudflare); text cached from the Wayback copy of 2026-06-21. All About Birds /id (Wayback 2026-07-12) agrees on length: 'Length: 10.2-11.4 in (26-29 cm)'. Replaces Audubon's 25 to 33 cm (#262)) |

## Puffin. RSPB.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/puffin

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A bright-billed seabird | with its bright bill and paddle-like feet |
| Its legs, usually bright reddish orange in summer, turn a muted yellow | Their legs, usually a bright reddish orange in summer, turn a muted yellow. |
| It is rarely seen like this, because in winter it is usually far out at sea | We don’t often see them in their winter wear, as they’re usually far out at sea. (note: 'because' restates the source's own 'as') |
| The UK is home to about 9 percent of Europe's puffins | The UK is home to about 9% of Europe's Puffins, which breed on islands and sea cliffs around our coasts. |
| according to the 2023 Seabirds Count it lost 23 percent of them in the previous 20 years | According to 2023's Seabirds Count, the latest seabird census, 23% of Puffins have been lost from the UK in the past 20 years. |
| Climate change and industrial-scale overfishing have hit puffins hard | Puffins have been heavily impacted by climate change and industrial-scale overfishing. |
| In the southern parts of their range, including the UK, sandeels are a staple food | In the southern parts of their range, like the UK, sandeels are a staple food for Puffins. |
| In 2024 the UK banned industrial sandeel fishing in the English North Sea and all Scottish waters to protect seabirds | In 2024, the UK banned industrial sandeel fishing in the English North Sea and all Scottish waters, offering a lifeline to Puffins and other seabirds. |
| and its head fades to gray | their bellies and heads fade to grey (note: (#257)) |

## Fratercula arctica (Atlantic puffin). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Fratercula_arctica/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Jagged marks on its upper bill help it carry more fish | The top jaw of the beak has jagged marks on it so the species can carry more fish when hunting. |
| Jagged marks on its upper bill help it carry more fish when it hunts | The top jaw of the beak has jagged marks on it so the species can carry more fish when hunting. |

## Kovacs & Meyers (2000). Anatomy and histochemistry of flight muscles in a wing-propelled diving bird, the Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica. Journal of Morphology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(200005)244:2<109::aid-jmor2>3.0.co;2-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| flies underwater on its wings | a Wing-Propelled Diving Bird, the Atlantic Puffin ... Twenty-three species within the avian family Alcidae are capable of wing-propelled flight in the air and underwater. |
| its wings drive it through both air and water | a Wing-Propelled Diving Bird, the Atlantic Puffin ... Twenty-three species within the avian family Alcidae are capable of wing-propelled flight in the air and underwater. |
| The puffin is a wing-propelled diver: its wings drive it through the air and underwater | a Wing-Propelled Diving Bird, the Atlantic Puffin ... Twenty-three species within the avian family Alcidae are capable of wing-propelled flight in the air and underwater. |
| Auks have often been studied to see whether flying underwater costs them flying ability in the air | Alcids have been viewed as Northern Hemisphere parallels to penguins, and have often been studied to see if their underwater flight comes at a cost, compromising their aerial flying ability. (note: alcids are the auk family, Alcidae) |
| A 2000 study found the puffin's primary flight muscles are largely aerobic | Muscle fiber types were largely aerobic in both muscles ... The presence of these two fiber types in the primary flight muscles of puffins (note: 2000 is the paper's publication year (Journal of Morphology 244)) |
| Its authors suggest both kinds of flight need muscle like that, and that auks are a stable adaptation to both rather than a compromise | suggests that aerial and underwater flight necessitate a largely aerobic fiber complement. We suggest that alcids do not represent an adaptive compromise, but a stable adaptation for wing-propelled locomotion both in the air and underwater. (note: 'rather than a compromise' restates 'do not represent an adaptive compromise, but') |
| Wings Built for Two Jobs | capable of wing-propelled flight in the air and underwater |

## Guilford et al. (2011). A Dispersive Migration in the Atlantic Puffin and Its Implications for Migratory Navigation. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021336

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Puffins tracked from Skomer, an island in Wales | We tracked birds using geolocators (Mk 13 or Mk14; British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge) at a compact sub-colony of Puffins at The Isthmus on Skomer Island, Wales, UK |
| spread widely outside the breeding season | Tracked birds showed a complex pattern of migratory movements during the non-breeding months, starting with highly dispersive movements into the Atlantic. |
| some went as far as Greenland, and later in the winter some reached the Mediterranean | In August most birds migrate away from the colony, most in a NW-W direction, some as far as Greenland ... and then later in the winter they move southwards, some as far as the Mediterranean |
| Each bird was more likely to follow a route similar to its own previous migration than another puffin's | individuals are significantly more likely to follow a migration similar to their own previous route than that of another Puffin |
| without their parents | the young fledge at night without their parents (note: (#257)) |

## BirdLife International (2021). Fratercula arctica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22694927A166290968.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22694927a166290968.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). |
| The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). |

## Barrett (2015). Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica chick growth in relation to food load composition. Seabird Journal.

https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.28.17

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Often around a dozen, and more is not always better. | A similar increase (from c. 4 to 12 fish/load) was recorded over the 38-year period at the Isle of May (Harris & Wanless 2011), and at Røst numbers of prey items were generally high with means of 10–11 in years of good breeding success and 15–20 in poor years (note: FAQ; 12 at the Isle of May and 10-11 at Røst in good years) |
| Over 38 years on Scotland's Isle of May, the number of fish per load rose from about 4 to 12, and at Røst in Norway loads averaged 10 to 11 fish in good breeding years and 15 to 20 in poor ones. | A similar increase (from c. 4 to 12 fish/load) was recorded over the 38-year period at the Isle of May (Harris & Wanless 2011), and at Røst numbers of prey items were generally high with means of 10–11 in years of good breeding success and 15–20 in poor years (note: FAQ) |
| A load of many small fish can be a sign that food near the colony is getting worse. | documented a gradual change in chick diet and signs of a deterioration in feeding conditions through increases in numbers of small fish in beak loads (note: FAQ; Barrett's summary of the 1980-2000 Hornøya study) |
| sometimes carries a dozen small fish home in its bill | A similar increase (from c. 4 to 12 fish/load) was recorded over the 38-year period at the Isle of May (Harris & Wanless 2011), and at Røst numbers of prey items were generally high with means of 10–11 in years of good breeding success and 15–20 in poor years (note: tagline; 12 fish a load at the Isle of May, re-pointed from Audubon (#257)) |
| A parent may fly back to its nest with a dozen small fish | A similar increase (from c. 4 to 12 fish/load) was recorded over the 38-year period at the Isle of May (Harris & Wanless 2011), and at Røst numbers of prey items were generally high with means of 10–11 in years of good breeding success and 15–20 in poor years (note: vibe.reason (#257)) |
| a parent may fly back to the nest with a dozen small fish held crosswise in its bill | A similar increase (from c. 4 to 12 fish/load) was recorded over the 38-year period at the Isle of May (Harris & Wanless 2011), and at Røst numbers of prey items were generally high with means of 10–11 in years of good breeding success and 15–20 in poor years (note: the dozen; 'crosswise' is the next claim (#257)) |

## Spencer. Diving Behavior and Identification of Sex of Breeding Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica), and Nest-Site Characteristics of Alcids on Petit Manan Island, Maine. Masters thesis, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/812/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Depth recorders on 13 adult puffins in Maine logged 8,097 dives | Dive data were successfully retrieved from 5 birds foraging for 14 days in 2008, and 8 birds foraging for 18 days in 2009. Pooling across all birds, a total of 8,097 dives were recorded (note: 5 + 8 = 13 birds; Petit Manan Island, Maine (#185)) |
| 86 percent were shallower than 15 meters, and the deepest reached 40.7 meters | Dive depth was less than 15 m for 86% of the dives. Mean maximum dive depth across birds was 9.7 (± 1.7) m, with the deepest dive being 40.7 m. (note: replaces Audubon's 'within 50 ft ... about 200 ft' (#185)) |
| When 13 adult puffins nesting on Petit Manan Island in Maine carried depth recorders | we quantified foraging behavior of adult Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) by deploying time-depth recorders (TDRs) on 18 adults (note: FAQ; recorders went on 18 and returned data from 13 (5 + 8)) |
| 86 percent of their 8,097 dives were shallower than 15 meters (50 feet), and the deepest reached 40.7 meters (about 134 feet) | Dive depth was less than 15 m for 86% of the dives. Mean maximum dive depth across birds was 9.7 (± 1.7) m, with the deepest dive being 40.7 m. (note: FAQ; 15 m ≈ 49 ft, 40.7 m ≈ 133.5 ft) |
| Females made fewer of the deep dives than males did. | Females made fewer deep dives (27-41 m), had more midday dives (1000 - 1559), and their dives were spread across a greater number of bouts per day than males. (note: FAQ) |
| 86 percent of their 8,097 dives | Pooling across all birds, a total of 8,097 dives were recorded (note: FAQ) |

## Response to arbitration tribunal final report: UK-Sandeel (The European Union v. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). GOV.UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/response-to-arbitration-tribunal-final-report-uk-sandeel-the-european-union-v-the-united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| to protect seabirds | The decisions were taken to protect vulnerable seabird populations and support the wider marine environment. |
| The EU challenged the ban | In April 2024, the EU launched dispute proceedings to challenge the closures. |
| after a 2025 arbitration ruling the UK government said the closures would stay in place | The closures will therefore remain in place. (note: page 'Published 2 May 2025' with 'The sandeel Arbitration Tribunal has published its final ruling.' and a 'Further update as of June 25th, 2025' ending in this sentence (#185)) |

## Atlantic Puffin Life History. All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Atlantic_Puffin/lifehistory

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Puffins eat small fish about 5 to 15 centimeters long, mainly sandeels, sprat, capelin, herring, hake and cod | Atlantic Puffins eat small fish around 2 to 6 inches long, mainly sandlance (sandeel), sprat, capelin, herring, hake, and cod. (note: 2 to 6 in = 5.1 to 15.2 cm; replaces Audubon's chick-diet list (#257)) |
| Small fish about 5 to 15 cm long, mainly sandeels, sprat, capelin, herring, hake and cod | Atlantic Puffins eat small fish around 2 to 6 inches long, mainly sandlance (sandeel), sprat, capelin, herring, hake, and cod. (note: stats.diet; 2 to 6 in = 5.1 to 15.2 cm (#257)) |
| Burrows and rock crevices on sea islands | Atlantic Puffins nest in burrows on rocky islands with short vegetation, and on sea cliffs. ... nests are placed in crevices or beneath boulders. (note: stats.habitat, re-pointed from Audubon (#257)) |
| at sea the rest of the year | They spend the rest of the year at sea. (note: stats.habitat; replaces Audubon's 'usually well offshore' (#257)) |
| Puffins breed in colonies, in burrows or among rocks on sea islands | Atlantic Puffins nest in colonies on small islands covered in short vegetation ... On rocky islands they make a nest under a boulder or within a crevice among the rocks. (note: re-pointed from Audubon (#257)) |
| Sociable at its colonies, the puffin often feeds alone or with one other bird in winter | in the winter they are less social often foraging singly or with another individual. At the breeding colonies they are social birds (note: re-pointed from Audubon (#257)) |
| out on the open ocean | Atlantic Puffins spend most of their life on the open ocean, coming ashore only to breed. (note: (#257)) |

## Atlantic Puffin. Hinterland Who's Who.

https://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/atlantic-puffin.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| held crosswise in its bill | Adults hold fish crossways in their bills while carrying food back to their chicks. (note: replaces Audubon's 'lined up'; All About Birds agrees, hedged: 'often capture several fish during one dive, holding them crosswise in their bill' (#257)) |
| Backward-pointing spines on its tongue and the roof of its mouth hold the catch in place while it grabs more | a series of backward-pointing spines project from the tongue and top of mouth and hold the food in place while more is being caught. (note: (#257)) |
| Both parents feed the chick | Then it is left alone most of the time in the safety of the burrow while both parents come and go, bringing it food. (note: re-pointed from Audubon; ADW's 'the female puffin will go out to catch food' disagrees and is student-written (#257)) |
| carrying fish in their bills | Adults hold fish crossways in their bills while carrying food back to their chicks. (note: (#257)) |
| After the breeding season, a puffin sheds the colorful plates on its bill and around its eyes | After the breeding season, the adult puffin sheds the colourful plates on its bill and around the eyes (note: replaces Audubon's 'somewhat smaller and less colorful' (#257)) |
| After the breeding season, an Atlantic puffin sheds the colorful plates on its bill and around its eyes, along with the feathers on its head and neck, and its face turns dark. | After the breeding season, the adult puffin sheds the colourful plates on its bill and around the eyes as well as the feathers on its head and neck. Its face becomes dark, especially around and in front of the eye. (note: FAQ (#257)) |
| It looks so different in winter that people once thought it was a different species. | The Atlantic Puffin looks so different in the winter that people once thought it was a different species. (note: FAQ (#257)) |
| A puffin usually lays a single egg | the female puffin lays a single egg (note: 'usually' from BTO nest records: typical clutch 1, observed 1-2 (#257)) |
| whitish at first but quickly stained brown with dirt and mud | The egg is whitish at first with faint blotches, but quickly becomes stained brown with dirt and mud. (note: replaces Audubon's 'white' (#257)) |
| Most chicks leave at night | Most chicks fledge under the cover of night and are at sea, far from the colony, by morning. (note: replaces Audubon's 'usually leaving at night and flying directly out to sea' (#257)) |
| by morning are at sea, far from the colony | Most chicks fledge under the cover of night and are at sea, far from the colony, by morning. (note: (#257)) |