Puffin

Puffin

Fratercula arctica

Introduction

The most familiar, and some would say charismatic, of our breeding auks, the Puffin is also the most localised in its British breeding range.

Puffins are predominantly burrow-nesters using sites within short grassy swards, often located on sloping ground above cliffs. Although many of these burrows will have been excavated by the Puffins themselves, they are not averse to taking over burrows from Rabbits or Manx Shearwaters.

Our Puffins spend the winter at sea, with ringing data suggesting an extensive wintering range, extending over the eastern Atlantic, south to north-west Africa and with some individuals venturing into the Mediterranean Sea.

Key Stats

Status
Common
Common
Weight
Weight
386.9g
Eggs
Eggs
1
Seasonality
Seasonality
4%
BTO Records
BTO Records
62k records
Publications
Publications
8
Population and distribution stats for:
Population Change
Population Change
No data
Population Size
Population Size
No current data
Distribution Change
Distribution_change
-53.4% contraction

Identification

Curated resources to aid in the identification of Puffin

ID Videos

This section features BTO training videos headlining this species, or featuring it as a potential confusion species.

Winter Auks

Songs and Calls

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Puffin, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Song:

Movement

Information about Puffin movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Dots show the foreign destinations of birds ringed in Britain & Ireland, and the origins of birds ringed overseas that were subsequently recaptured, resighted or found dead in Britain & Ireland. Dot colours indicate the time of year that the species was present at the location.

  • Winter (Nov-Feb)
  • Spring (Mar-Apr)
  • Summer (May-Jul)
  • Autumn (Aug-Oct)
Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

European movements

EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

The Eurasian-African Migration Atlas shows movements of individual birds ringed or recovered in Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Puffin, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Productivity and Nesting

Nesting timing

Typical (exceptional) number of broods
1
Source

Egg measurements

Typical length x width
63x44 mm
Mass (% shell)
64g (7%)
Source

Clutch Size

Typical number
1 eggs
Observed minimum and maximum
1-2 eggs
Source

Incubation

Incubation by
Female (occ. Male)
Typical duration
36-43 days
Source

Fledging

Type of chick
Altricial, downy
Typical duration
34-44 days
Source

Survival and Longevity

Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report.

Lifespan

Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age
18 years with breeding typically at 5 years
Source
Maximum age from a ringed bird
42 years, 21 days (set in 2019)
Source

Survival of adults

All adults
0.924±0.006
Females
0.924
Males
0.924
Source

Biometrics

Wing length and body weights are from live birds (source).

Wing length

Average ±1 std deviation; range and sample size in brackets.
Juvenile
138.7±6.6 mm
(131-145 mm, N=2392)
-
All adults
159.5±4.5 mm
(152-167 mm, N=583)

Body weight

Average ±1 std deviation; 5th and 95th percentiles and sample size in brackets.
Juvenile
263.9±26.9 g
(220-305 g, N=4512)
-
All adults
386.9±40.1 g
(325-450 g, N=467)

Ring Size

E

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Puffin

Classification and Codes

  • Order: Charadriiformes
  • Family: Alcidae
  • Scientific name: Fratercula arctica
  • Authority: Linnaeus, 1758
  • BTO 2-letter code: PU
  • BTO 5-letter code: PUFFI
  • Euring code number: 6540

Alternate species names

  • Catalan: fraret atlàntic
  • Czech: papuchalk severní
  • Danish: Lunde
  • Dutch: Papegaaiduiker
  • Estonian: lunn e. põhjalunn
  • Finnish: lunni
  • French: Macareux moine
  • Gaelic: Buthaid
  • German: Papageitaucher
  • Hungarian: lunda
  • Icelandic: Lundi
  • Irish: Puifín
  • Italian: Pulcinella di mare
  • Latvian: Atlantijas tuklitis
  • Lithuanian: atlantinis mormonas
  • Norwegian: Lunde
  • Polish: maskonur (zwyczajny)
  • Portuguese: papagaio-do-mar
  • Slovak: mníšik bielobradý
  • Slovenian: mormon
  • Spanish: Frailecillo atlántico
  • Swedish: lunnefågel
  • Welsh: Pâl
  • English folkname(s): Londoner

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Puffin from BTO scientists.

Causes of Change and Solutions

Causes of change

The reasons for the population increases between 1969–70 and Seabird 2000 are not known (JNCC 2022). Productivity was low between 1998 and 2013 and this may have contributed to declines, with food shortages and high levels of rainfall causing flooding of burrows both being implicated (JNCC 2022). An Icelandic study found a strong correlation between Puffin breeding productivity and local sea surface temperatures (which can affect prey abundance) (Hansen et al. 2021), and it is likely that UK colonies are also being affected by changes to sea surface temperatures caused by climate change. Prey shortages result in longer foraging ranges and lower productivity which ultimately leads to declines (Fayet et al. 2021). The population may also be affected by survival and it is believed that a 'wreck' in the winter of 2013/14 following several severe storms may have had a substantial effect on the Puffin populations at some UK sites (JNCC 2022).

Publications (8)

The status of the UK’s breeding seabirds

Author: Stanbury, A.J., Burns, F., Aebischer, N.J., Baker, H., Balmer, D., Brown, A.F., Dunn, T., Lindley, P., Murphy, M., Noble, D.G., Owens, R. & Quinn, L.

Published: 2024

Five seabird species are added to the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List in this addendum to the 2021 update, bringing the total number of Red-listed seabird species to 10, up from six since ...

29.09.24

Papers

View on journal website

Seabird Population Trends and Causes of Change: 1986–2023

Author: Harris, S.J., Baker, H., Balmer, D.E., Bolton, M., Burton, N.H.K., Caulfield, E., Clarke, J.A.E., Dunn, T.E., Evans, T.J., Hereward, H.R.F., Humphreys, E.M., Money, S. and O’Hanlon, N.J.

Published: 2024

This report presents the latest seabird population trends in breeding abundance and productivity using data from the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP).The report documents changes in the abundance ...

21.11.24

Reports SMP Report

Read the report

Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2023

Author: Booth, K.J. & El Haddad, H.

Published: 2024

The report includes detailed information about the population trends and breeding success of seabirds in Northern Ireland, over the 2023 breeding season. Notably, Fulmar and Kittiwake populations are ...

15.04.24

Reports Northern Ireland Seabird Report

Download file

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

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