Horned Puffin

Fratercula corniculata

Horned Puffin

Fratercula corniculata

Other Common Names
Qategarpak in Yupik, known as the “clowns of the sea”

Seabird Aviary

Other Common Names

Qategarpak in Yupik, known as the “clowns of the sea”

At the Aquarium

Seabird Aviary

Appearance

This seabird is named for its hornlike protrusions above each eye. Horned puffins in breeding plumage have black backs and wings as well as a black forehead and collar. Their faces and underparts are white. They also have a triangular bill that is yellow with a reddish orange tip. Their legs and feet are yellow-orange. Horned puffins grow to lengths of about 15 inches with a wingspan of 22-23 inches.

In non-breeding plumage their horns disappear and their cheeks turn gray while the bill becomes darker and smaller. Juveniles look similar to non-breeding adults but they have smaller bills without reddish orange on the tip.

Habitat

Rocky cliffs, offshore islands and open ocean.

Diet

Variety of fish, squid, crustaceans and polychaetes.

Life History

Horned puffins form colonies of varying sizes, often mixing in with other seabirds. They mostly live on the open ocean, but arrive at colonies in coastal nesting grounds in the spring. The beginning of the breeding season depends on location.

Horned puffins are socially monogamous meaning they form a pair bond to breed and raise their young. Nests are built by both males and females in burrows or in rock crevices. During breeding season horned puffins typically lay a single white egg with faint brown and lavender markings.

Both males and females sit on the egg. This incubation period lasts 40 to 42 days. The young remain in the nest for 34 to 40 days after hatching.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

As predators, horned puffins play a role in balancing fish populations. As prey, they serve as a food source for other species. Puffins are used for food and clothing by Alaska Natives.

Found in the northern Pacific Ocean, from the coast of Japan and southwest Canada to the Chukchi Sea. In the North American part of its range, the horned puffin breeds from the northwestern coast of Alaska to the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Horned puffins are rare in Oregon but can sometimes be sighted more than 50 miles offshore in spring.

During breeding season the horned puffin lets out throaty growls.

In pursuit of food horned puffins use their wings to propel themselves underwater. Like other puffins, they carry multiple fish crosswise in their bill to transport food back to the colony.

In North America there are 628 breeding colonies of horned puffins.

Citations & Other Resources

BirdLife International. 2020. Fratercula corniculata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. N.d. Horned Puffin.
Golubova, E. Y. 2024. State of Populations and Breeding Biology of the Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata Alcidae, Charadriiformes) in the Northern Part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Biology Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 51(7), 2120–2142. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359024700626
Bakhturina, D. S., and A.V. Klenova. 2016. Quantitative analysis of the behavior of three auk species (Charadriiformes, Alcidae): Crested auklet (Aethia cristatella), parakeet auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula), and horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata). Biology Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 43(7), 670–684. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359016070025
Alsop, F. 2001. Birds of North America (1st American ed.). DK.
Ziegler, Y. 2021. Horned Puffin: The Sea Parrot. Alaska Wildlife Alliance. https://www.akwildlife.org/news/species-spotlight-horned-puffin

Horned Puffin

Horned Puffin

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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