Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica
VUVulnerable
- Length
- 28–30 cm
- Family
- Auks, Puffins, and Murres (Alcidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Best months to see it
- JanJanuary: Poor or no data
- FebFebruary: Poor or no data
- MarMarch: Poor or no data
- AprApril: Poor or no data
- MayMay: Best
- JunJune: Best
- JulJuly: Best
- AugAugust: Poor or no data
- SepSeptember: Poor or no data
- OctOctober: Poor or no data
- NovNovember: Poor or no data
- DecDecember: Poor or no data
BestGoodFair
Overview
A full account of this species is being written.
Diet: Sand eels and small fish, carried crosswise in the bill.
How to identify it
- Black-and-white seabird with a large triangular bill striped red, yellow and blue-grey in summer
- Orange legs
- Whirring flight low over the sea
Voice
Low growling calls from burrows.
Where to see it
- Hornøya, Varanger
- Farne Islands, United Kingdom
Destination guides featuring this bird
Range and habitat
Breeds North Atlantic coasts from Greenland, Iceland and Faroes eastward through Scandinavia including Svalbard, and Novaya Zemlya (northwestern Russia), also northern Hudson Bay to southeastern Canada and Maine (northeastern USA); winters offshore in North Atlantic and marginal seas, to North Carolina Gulf Stream and to Azores and Iberian Peninsula.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.