Thetufted puffin(Fratercula cirrhata), also known ascrested puffin,is a relatively abundant medium-sizedpelagicseabirdin theaukfamily (Alcidae) found throughout theNorth Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species ofpuffinthat make up the genusFraterculaand is easily recognizable by its thick redbilland yellow tufts.
| Tufted puffin | |
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| Breeding adult,St. Paul Island, Alaska | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Alcidae |
| Genus: | Fratercula |
| Species: | F. cirrhata
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| Binomial name | |
| Fratercula cirrhata (Pallas,1769)
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| Distribution map of the tufted puffin
extant (resident) extant (breeding visitor)
extant (winter visitor)
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| Synonyms | |
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Alca cirrhataPallas, 1769 | |
Description
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Tufted puffins are around 35 cm (14 in) in length with a similar wingspan and weigh about three-quarters of a kilogram (1.6 lbs), making them the largest of all the puffins. Birds from the western Pacific population are somewhat larger than those from the eastern Pacific, and male birds tend to be slightly larger than females.[2]
They are primarily black with a white facial patch, and, typical of other puffin species, feature a very thick bill, primarily red with some yellow and occasionally green markings. Their most distinctive feature and namesake are the yellow tufts (Latin:cirri) that appear annually on birds of both sexes as the summer reproductive season approaches. Their feet become bright red and their face is also bright white in the summer. During the feeding season, the tufts molt off and the plumage, beak, and legs lose much of their luster.
As among other alcids, the wings are relatively short, adapted for diving, underwater swimming, and capturing prey rather than gliding, of which they are incapable. As a consequence, they have thick, darkmyoglobin-rich breast muscles adapted for a fast andaerobicallystrenuous wing-beat cadence, which they can nonetheless maintain for long periods of time.
Juvenile tufted puffins resemble winter adults, but with a grey-brown breast shading to white on the belly, and a shallow, yellowish-brown bill.[2]Overall, they resemble a horn-less and unmarkedrhinoceros auklet(Cerorhinca monocerata).
Taxonomy
editThe tufted puffin was first described in 1769 by German zoologistPeter Simon Pallas.Thescientific nameFraterculacomes from theMedieval Latinfratercula,friar,a reference to the black and white plumage which resemblesmonasticrobes. The specific namecirrhataisLatinfor "curly-headed", fromcirrus,a curl of hair.[3]The vernacular namepuffin– puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, theManx shearwater(Puffinus puffinus),[4]formerly known as the "Manks puffin". It is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle Englishpophynorpoffin) used for the cured carcasses.[5]The Atlantic puffin acquired the name at a much later stage, possibly because of its similar nesting habits,[6]and it was formally applied to that species byPennantin 1768.[4]It was later extended to include the similar and related Pacific puffins.[5]
Since it may be more closely related to therhinoceros aukletthan the other puffins, it is sometimes placed in themonotypicgenusLunda.
The juveniles, due to their similarity toC. monocerata,were initially mistaken for a distinctspeciesof a monotypicgenus,and namedSagmatorrhina lathami( "Latham's saddle-billed auk ", fromsagmata"saddle" andrhina"nose" ).
Distribution and habitat
editTufted puffins form densebreeding coloniesduring the summer reproductive season fromWashington stateandBritish Columbia,throughout southeasternAlaskaand theAleutian Islands,Kamchatka,theKuril Islandsand throughout theSea of Okhotsk.[7]While they share some habitat withhorned puffins(F. corniculata), the range of the tufted puffin is generally more eastern. They have been known to nest in small numbers as far south as thenorthern Channel Islands,off the coast ofsouthern California.[8]However, the last confirmed sighting at the Channel Islands occurred in 1997.[9]
Tufted puffins typically selectislandsor cliffs that are relatively inaccessible topredators,close to productive waters, and high enough that they can take to the air successfully. Ideal habitat is steep but with a relatively soft soil substrate andgrassfor the creation ofburrows.[10]
During the winter feeding season, they spend their time almost exclusively at sea, extending theirrangethroughout the North Pacific and south toJapanandCalifornia.
Behavior
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Breeding
editBreeding takes place on isolated islands: over 25,000 pairs have been recorded in a single colony off the coast ofBritish Columbia.The nest is usually a simple burrow dug with the bill and feet, but sometimes a crevice between rocks is used instead. It is well-lined with vegetation and feathers. Courtship occurs through skypointing, strutting, and billing. A singleeggis laid, usually in June, and incubated by both parents for about 45 days. The eggs are pure white or pale buff and are without gloss. They very often have barely perceptible shell markings of dull purplish color.[11]Fledglingsleave the nest at between 40 and 55 days.
Tufted puffins may be purely aquatic locomotive animals until they are three, living entirely as marine animals returning to shore only to breed on the nesting cliffs where they hatched. They tend to be well offshore when hatching.[citation needed]
Diet
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Tufted puffins feed on a variety offishandmarine invertebrates,which they catch by diving from the surface. However, their diet varies greatly with age and location. Adult puffins largely depend on invertebrates, especiallysquidandkrill.Nestlings at coastal colonies are fed primarily fish such asrockfishandsandlance,while nestlings at colonies closer topelagichabitats are more dependent on invertebrates.Demersal fishare consumed in some quantity by most nestlings, suggesting that puffins feed to some extent on the ocean bottom.[12]
Feeding areas can be located far offshore from the nesting areas. Puffins can store large quantities of small fish in their bills and carry them to their chicks.
Predators and threats
editTufted puffins are preyed upon by various avian raptors such assnowy owls,bald eaglesandperegrine falcons,and mammals like theArctic fox.Foxes seem to prefer the puffin over other birds, making the bird a main target. Choosing inaccessible cliffs and entirely mammal-free islands protects them from terrestrial predators while laying eggs in burrows is effective in protecting them from egg-scavengers likegullsandravens.[2]
A mass die-off of puffins atSt. Paul Island, Alaskabetween October 2016 and January 2017 has been attributed to ecosystem changes resulting fromclimate change.[13]
Relationship with humans
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TheAleutandAinu people(who called themEtupirka) of the North Pacific traditionally hunted tufted puffin for food and feathers. Skins were used to make toughparkasworn feather side in and the silky tufts were sewn into ornamental work. Currently, harvesting of tufted puffin is illegal or discouraged throughout its range.[10]
The tufted puffin is a familiar bird on the coasts of the Russian Pacific coast, where it is known astoporok(Топорок) – meaning "small axe," a hint to the shape of the bill.Toporokis the namesake of one of its main breeding sites,Kamen Toporkov( "Tufted Puffin Rock" ) orOstrov Toporkov( "Tufted Puffin Island" ), an islet offshoreBering Island.
The oldest recorded tufted puffin was six years old when discovered in Alaska, the same state where it had been banded.[14]
Conservation status in Puget Sound
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Many rules and regulations have been set out to try to conserve fishes and shorebirds in Puget Sound. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of Washington State has created aquatic reserves surroundingSmith and Minor Islands.[15] Over 36,000 acres (150 km2) of tidelands and seafloor habitat were included in the proposed aquatic reserve. Not only do these islands provide the necessary habitat for many seabirds such as tufted puffins and marine mammals, but this area also contains the largest kelp beds in all of Puget Sound. In addition,Protection Island reservehas also been off limits to the public to aid marine birds in breeding. Protection Island contains one of the last two nesting colonies of puffins in Puget Sound, and about 70% of the tufted puffin population nests on this island.[16]
References
edit- ^BirdLife International (2020)."Fratercula cirrhata".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2020:e.T22694934A168852266.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22694934A168852266.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^abcGaston, A. J.; Jones, I. L. (1998).The Auks: Alcidae.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-854032-9.
- ^Jobling, James A (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. pp.109,164.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^abLockwood, W. B. (1993).The Oxford Dictionary of British Bird Names.Oxford University Press. p. 100.ISBN978-0-19-866196-2.
- ^ab"Puffin".Oxford English Dictionary(Online ed.).Oxford University Press.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)
- ^Lee, D. S. & Haney, J. C. (1996) "Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) ", in:The Birds of North America,No. 257, (Poole, A. & Gill, F. eds). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC
- ^Artyukhin, Yu.B.; Burkanov, V.N. (1999).Morskiye ptitsy i mlekopitayushchiye Dalnego Vostoka Rossii[Sea birds and mammals of the Russian Far East: A Field Guide] (in Russian). Moscow: АSТ Publishing. p. 215.
- ^McChesney, G. J.; Carter, H. R.; Whitworth, D. L. (1995). "Reoccupation and Extension of Southern Breeding Limits of Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets in California".Colonial Waterbirds.18(1). Waterbird Society: 79–90.doi:10.2307/1521401.JSTOR1521401.
- ^McChesney, G. J.; Carter, H. R. (2008).Studies of Western Birds.Vol. 1. pp. 213–217.
- ^abStirling, K. (2000)."Fratercula cirrhata".Animal Diversity Web.University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.Retrieved2012-08-22.
- ^"THE BIRD BOOK".
- ^Piatt, J. F. and A. S. Kitaysky (2002). Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.708
- ^Shankman, Sabrina (2019-05-29)."Mass Die-Off of Puffins Raises More Fears About Arctic's Warming Climate".InsideClimate News.Retrieved2019-08-03.
- ^"Tufted Puffin Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology".allaboutbirds.org.Retrieved2023-05-24.
- ^"Smith & Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve Management Plan"(PDF).Seattle, WA: Washington State Department of Natural Resources. 2010.
- ^Chew, J. (2010-11-04). "DNR ceremony seals Protection Island Aquatic Reserve".Peninsula Daily News.
External links
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- ^tufted_puffin_monitoring_study_at_haystack_rock_with_2018_data.pdf (cannon-beach.or.us) Stephensen, S.W. 2018. Tufted Puffin monitoring study at Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon 2010-2017. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Unpublished Report, Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Newport, Oregon 97365. 20 pp.