The fledgling leaves its burrow at night and moves to sea by walking and fluttering its wings. After the egg hatches, both parents care for theĦ-7 weeks, until it is ready to leave the nest. The female lays one egg, which both parents incubate for 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 weeks. This chamber is usually lined with grass or feathers, The protected burrow is 2-7 feet long with a nest chamber at the end. The pair spends a great deal of time preparing the nest site, excavating the On grassy slopes, or in natural crevices in rocks. They nest in burrows at the edges of cliffs, Tufted Puffins probably form long-term pair bonds to help care for the offspring. Puffins are powerful flyers, beating their wings 300-400 times a minute to achieve speeds up to 64 kph (40 mph). While it opens its beak to catch more fish. Puffins can carry 5-20 fish back to their nest at a time. The average catch is around 10 fish per trip, but the record in Maine is aĪt once! The puffin's beak is specialized to hold lots of fish. The puffin's raspy tongue holds fish against spines on the palate, A puffin can hold a dozen fish crosswise in their bill until they return to the nest to feed the They dive and swim underwater, using their wings to paddle and their feet to steer their way through schools of small fish, Tufted Puffins are active at their nest colonies during the day and can often be seen sitting upright on rocks. They also eat squids, octopuses, crabs, jellyfish and zooplankton. They are mostly pelagic (live at sea) during the winter.Ĭlick the range map to learn more about the distribution of Tufted Puffin in Washington.ĭiet: The diet of Tufted Puffins is mostly small fish which they catch in their beak while swimming. Peninsula in Siberia to the Channel Islands off southern California. Winter habitat is well offshore, in mid-ocean.īreeding colonies of Tufted Puffins are found on islands and some portions of mainland coastlines throughout the north Pacific, from the Chukchi They breed in colonies on islands with steep, grassy slopes or on cliff tops. Tufted Puffins can be found in many coastal habitats adjacent to the Washington coast and elsewhere in the northern Pacific, with the exception of estuaries. Tufted Puffins are the size of pigeons, but weigh nearly twice as much (1 kg, 2 lbs). Males and females look alike, but males are usually slightly larger than females. The nonbreeding adult has a dark gray face with no head plumes or bill plate. The thick bill is large and red-orange, with a bright-orange yellow plate over the base. Golden plumes curling over back of head and neck. The breeding adult is all black except for a white face and long The Tufted Puffin is a medium-sized, stocky, dark seabird with a rounded head.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |