Tufted Puffin

The Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), also known as the crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. Tufted puffins frequently choose cliffs or islands that are generally off-limits to predators, close to fertile waters, and high enough for them to successfully take to the air. The ideal environment is a steep slope with grass for digging burrows and a rather soft soil base.

The largest puffin, the tufted puffin measures around 35 cm in length, has a comparable wingspan and weighs about 1.6 lbs. Male and female birds often have slightly different sizes, with birds from the western Pacific population being slightly larger than those from the eastern Pacific. Like other puffin species, they have a very thick bill that is primarily red with some yellow and rarely green patterns. They are primarily black with a white face patch. The yellow tufts (Latin: cirri), which appear annually on birds of both sexes as the summer breeding season approaches, are their most distinguishing characteristic and the source of their name.