Puffins

 Because puffins make me smile when the world doesn't. Some Puffin facts (courtesy of Mental Floss).

THE NAME PUFFIN REFERS TO THE YOUNG BIRDS' ROLY-POLY LOOK.

Puffins are called several names based on their appearance. Puffin is thought to come from the word puff, meaning swollen, because the fluffy pufflings do appear rather round. Puffins have also been referred to as the clowns of the ocean or sea parrots thanks to their amusing expression and colorful beak. The Atlantic puffin’s Latin name, Fratercula arctica, translates to “little brother of the north,” which may allude to the Atlantic puffin’s plumage resembling a friar’s robe.

PUFFINS' BEAKS CHANGE COLOR.

Puffins’ beaks are known for their technicolor orange hue, but just before winter the birds shed the outer layer of their bills, leaving them smaller and duller. When spring arrives, though, their beaks return to their bright form, just in time for mating season.me (SM: This is probably why they look "duller" in a zoo.)

PUFFLINGS ARE KIND OF HIGH-MAINTENANCE.

Being a parent to a puffling is very demanding job. Mother and father puffins have to fly long distances to hunt food in the open ocean and then return to their chick with mouthfuls of fish. Parents can supply their young with fish more than 100 times a day.me

PUFFINS CAN LIVE MORE THAN 20 YEARS.

Puffins lead long lives for birds—often more than two decades. The oldest known puffin lived to be 36. The species’ maximum age is difficult to gauge because dated leg bands often corrode in the puffins’ salty habitat, or become illegible as the puffins nest in rocky environments. In fact, it’s hard to track which puffins were ever banded at all.

And so ends today's lesson on Puffins.