Bird · Coast expedition
Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica
Rare
The puffin's Latin name means little friar of the Arctic, for its black and white habit. The painted bill is seasonal dress: the bright outer plates grow for the breeding season and are shed afterwards, leaving a duller winter face.
Backward-facing spines on the tongue and palate let a puffin hold one row of fish while catching the next, which is how a single bird returns to its burrow with a dozen sand eels arranged crosswise in its beak.
It is a better swimmer than flier, whirring at some 400 wingbeats a minute in air but flying underwater with ease, diving tens of metres after fish.
