photo gallery > Birds (9) > Tufted Puffin

Click image for full size view. Tufted puffins are Northern Pacific sea birds that spend a majority of the year over the Pacific Ocean, but nest along coastlines from lower California to Alaska, and across the ocean from Japan to the shores of northeastern Asia. Every year puffins over-winter on the ocean. Their waterproof feathers and their ability to drink salt water and catch fish make staying long periods on the sea possible. They disperse widely while at sea but return to the colony where they were born, and usually to the same mate, every year for breeding. It is unknown how they do this, but it is speculated that they use sounds, smells, or visual cues from the sky or the ocean to find their way home.