A Tufted Puffin squats on Gull Island. Photo by M. Shultz.

What Tufted Puffins lack in grace on land, they make up for in beauty of movement underwater.  Tufted Puffins are one of the more heavy-set members of the Alcid family, which makes walking on land clumsy and necessitates a slope to give them enough lift to take off into the air.  But, underwater they are truely in their element.   They appear to "fly" through the ocean with their strong, pointed wings as they chase after their next meal. 

Several million of these charismatic birds live in the North Pacific, from California to Japan.  However, populations in California and Japan are in long-term decline, and no colonies outside of Alaska contain more than ten thousand birds.  Tufted puffins are one of the most beautiful auks – breeding adults are decorated with huge orange bills, white faces and long yellow feather tufts behind each eye, all of which contrast with their glossy black bodies.

A Tufted Puffin chick with emerging primary feathers on the wing. Photo by M. Shultz.

Diet is the most striking detail of Tufted Puffin biology. Chicks are fed almost entirely on tiny fish.  Adults take a more diverse diet compared to other auks that inhabit the open sea- squid and invertebrates are particularly important.  Tufteds dig a dirt burrow with their strong, clawed feet.  The back of the burrow broadens into a chamber where the female lays a plain white egg.  Both parents incubate the egg and feed the growing chick through the summer.

A pair of Tufted Puffins billing. Photo by M. Shultz.

Almost nothing is known about the population biology of this species. We have no idea how old they are when they begin to breed, how long they live, or how often chicks live long enough to begin breeding. All of this information would give us a good basic understanding of Tufted Puffin biology, and would be particularly useful in trying to help southern populations that are in decline.