Topic: "Puffins"
no photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:31 AM
what the hell is a puffin? jk puffin don't take it personal!!!

MsTeddyBear2u's photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:36 AM
laugh
Tell him what a puffin is Puffin! :wink:

no photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:38 AM
Tell him puffins:smile: The new guy wants to knowlaugh

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:41 AM
A puffin is a bird off the coast of Alaska or Maine. It is like a penguin ONLY cuter with a colorful beak!!!

flowerforyou flowerforyou

DTHRomeo's photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:44 AM
I knew that ... happy

Ok no i didn't frown

Cool to know girl flowerforyou

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:45 AM
Luis...

Thanks honey...

flowerforyou flowerforyou

no photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:46 AM
Also ...don't Puffins FLY ???... and Penguins do not ... :) ...

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:51 AM
TTO...

I've never seen one fly....nope. I don't know...I've never actually seen them in the wild. I hope to see some when I go to Alaska next year. I've seen some at the aquarium in Baltimore though....

no photo
Tue 09/18/07 11:58 AM
LOL... after hockey games and the post game beers, I have seen some really cool coloured birds flying I just thought they were Puffins ... LMAO .... kidding ..
Pretty sure I saw some when I was down EAST coast, and was TOLD that they do , but I shoot pucks, not Nature .. lol

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:02 PM
<~~~~~~~ok...here's a pic, I've been fascinated with them almost my WHOLE life

laugh laugh flowerforyou laugh laugh

MsTeddyBear2u's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:03 PM
Great pic of Puffins Girl!!! They are adorable...happy

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:04 PM
MsTeddy...

Thank you honey, I think so

laugh flowerforyou laugh

uk1971's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:07 PM
Puffin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Atlantic Puffin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Charadriiformes

Family: Alcidae

Genus: Fratercula
Brisson, 1760

Species
Fratercula arctica
Fratercula cirrhata
Fratercula corniculata
For prehistoric species, see article text.

For other uses, see Puffin (disambiguation).
The common name puffin describes any of three auk species (or alcids) in the bird genus Fratercula (Latin: little brother — probably a reference to their black and white plumage, which resembles monastic robes) with a brightly colored beak in the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil.

All three puffin species have large bills. They shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 100 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.


Breeding
The male Atlantic Puffin builds the nest and exhibits strong nest site fidelity. Both sexes of the Horned Puffin help to construct their nest. The burrows of the Atlantic and Horned Puffin are usually only about 1 metre (3 feet) deep, ending in a chamber, but the tunnel leading to a Tufted Puffin burrow may be up to 2.75 metres (9 feet) in length. The Atlantic Puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass, leaves and feathers but is occasionally unlined. The eggs of the Atlantic Puffin are creamy white but can be occasionally tinged in lilac.

Unlike many animals, puffins form long-term pair bonds. The female lays a single egg, and both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick. The incubating parent holds the egg against their brood patch with their wings. The chicks fledge at night. After fledging, the chicks spend the first few years of their lives at sea, returning to breed after three to seven years.

Like many auks, puffins eat both fish and zooplankton, but feed their chicks primarily with small marine fish several times a day. The puffins are distinct in their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fishes at a time, crosswise in their bill. This allows them to take longer foraging trips, since they can come back with more energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.


Species
Three species are recognized today:

Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica
Horned Puffin, Fratercula corniculata
Tufted Puffin, Fratercula cirrhata
The genus Fratercula probably evolved in the northern Pacific, like most lineages of auks. However, at least 2 undescribed prehistoric species are known to have occurred in the western Atlantic comparatively soon after the genus' emergence:

Fratercula sp. 1 (Yorktown Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
Fratercula sp. 2 (Yorktown Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
Another extinct species, Dow's Puffin (Fratercula dowi) was found on the Channel Islands of California until the Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene. It is possible that it became extinct due to overhunting and egg-collecting by early human settlers.


Puffins in culture
There are several islands around the world called Puffin Island

.glasses

Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:08 PM
Thank you Tom...I think

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Puffins1958's photo
Tue 09/18/07 12:29 PM
playful...

Did that answer all your questions?

flowerforyou