Tufted Puffin

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, British Columbia

A Tufted Puffin ( Fratercula cirrhata ) comes in for a landing. It's a seabird of the open waters, islands and coastal cliffs of the north Pacific. The Tufted Puffin nests mostly in deep burrows that it digs into cliff edges and slopes. They can capture and hold multiple 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 underwater.