The Tufted Puffin is a seabird of the open waters, islands, and coastal cliffs of the north Pacific. It is larger than other puffin species and distinctive in appearance, with a bold white "face-mask" and golden head plumes in the breeding season.
The Tufted Puffin nests mostly in deep burrows that it digs into cliff edges and slopes. These burrows can be more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep.
The Tufted Puffin can capture and hold multiple small fish crosswise in its bill, routinely 5 to 20 fish at a time, for delivery to chicks at the nest. Adults eat their own food while still under water.
The oldest recorded Tufted Puffin was at least 6 years old when it was found in Alaska, the same state where it had been banded.
Auks
