Puffin
Featured in: Year 2: Living things and their habitats
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Puffin
Bird
A distinctive, colourful seabird known as the 'clown of the sea', nesting on UK coastal cliffs in summer.
💡 Fun Facts
- Puffins are excellent swimmers and can dive up to 60 metres underwater to catch fish.
- Their colourful beaks actually fade to a dull grey during the winter!
- They dig burrows in the soil on coastal cliffs to lay their eggs.
📅 Through the Year
- In the UK:April to August
- Breeding:April to July
Name Story
Fratercula arctica
means “the little friar of the north”
a traditional storyThe 'little friar' meaning of Fratercula is secure, but why it was chosen — the monk-like plumage, or feet that look clasped in prayer — is a traditional explanation, not a proven one.
What does its name mean?
- Fratercula — little brother, or little friarLatin, a small form of frater 'brother'
- arctica — of the north, ArcticGreek arktikos 'northern'
- puffin — once the name of a different bird — the plump chick of the Manx shearwaterMiddle English
Its name means 'the little friar', most likely for its black-and-white feathers that look like a monk's robes. And here is a twist: the word 'puffin' first belonged to a completely different bird — the fat little chick of the Manx shearwater — before it was handed to the much-loved bird we know today.