dowi Lunda Sagmatorrhina Bonaparte, 1851 Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus Fratercula.

They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil.

They shed the colorful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak.

In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute)[1] in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.

[2] Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English pophyn or poffin) for the cured carcasses of nestling Manx shearwaters.

[4][5] The name Fratercula is Latin for "friar" from the word fraterculus "little brother",[6] because the puffin's black and white plumage resemble robes worn by monks.

[14] Another extinct species, Dow's puffin (Fratercula dowi) was found on the Channel Islands of California until the Late Pleistocene or early Holocene.

[16] The Fraterculini fossil record in the Pacific extends at least as far back as the middle Miocene, with three fossil species of Cerorhinca, and material tentatively referred to that genus, in the middle Miocene to late Pliocene of southern California and northern Mexico.

The puffins are stocky, short-winged, and short-tailed birds, with black upper parts and white or brownish-grey underparts.

[22] The Atlantic puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass, leaves, and feathers but is occasionally unlined.

This allows them to take longer foraging trips since they can come back with more food energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.

This behavior is made possible by the unique hinging mechanism of their beak, which allows the upper and lower biting edges to meet at any of a number of angles.

In 2019, animal experts observed puffins, in two separate geographic locations, using sticks to scratch themselves indicating that the seabirds have a basic ability to use tools.

The Atlantic puffin forms part of the national diet in Iceland, where the species does not have legal protection.