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At sea, it swims on the surface and feeds on zooplankton, small fish, and crabs, which it catches by diving underwater, using its wings for propulsion. This puffin has a black crown and back, light grey cheek patches, and a white body and underparts. Its broad, boldly marked red-and-black beak and orange legs contrast with its plumage.
The Atlantic puffin forms part of the national diet in Iceland, where the species does not have legal protection. Puffins are hunted by a technique called "sky fishing", which involves catching the puffins in a large net as they dive into the sea. Their meat is commonly featured on hotel menus.
The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English pophyn) for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name much later, possibly because of its similar nesting habits.
These tubenose birds fly with stiff wings and use a "shearing" flight technique (flying very close to the water and seemingly cutting or "shearing" the tips of waves) to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. This technique gives the group its English name. [1]
Located in Seward, there’s a range of marine animals, birds, fish, and invertebrates to become acquainted with at Alaska SeaLife Centre. For example, there are sea lions, ringed seals, spotted ...
Hutton's shearwater feeds in the open ocean largely on small fish and krill, diving up to 20 m. [2] Puffinus huttoni have long bills, which are adapted to catch prey more or less underwater by plunging from a few metres above the surface or by paddling slowly forwards searching with their head submerged, then diving using partly opened wings for propulsion.
The new hybrid likely came from breeding between two subspecies within the past 100 years, which scientists said coincides with the warming pattern.
Puffinus is a Neo-Latin loanword based on the English "puffin". The original Latin term for shearwaters was usually the catchall name for sea-birds, mergus. [8] "Puffin" and its variants, such as poffin, pophyn and puffing, [9] referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the shearwater, a former delicacy. [10]