Horned puffin

The horned puffin is an auk found in the North Pacific Ocean, including the coasts of Alaska, Siberia and British Columbia. It is a pelagic seabird that feeds primarily by diving for fish. It nests in colonies, often with other auks.

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Distribution

Region

North Pacific

Typical Environment

This pelagic auk breeds on sea cliffs and rocky islands from coastal Alaska and the Bering Sea west across Chukotka, Kamchatka, and the Kuril Islands. Colonies occupy crevices in boulder fields and narrow ledges above the surf. Outside the breeding season it disperses widely over cold offshore waters of the subarctic North Pacific, often far from land. Foraging is concentrated over continental shelf edges and upwelling zones where small schooling fish are abundant.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 500 m

Climate Zone

Polar

Characteristics

Size20–25 cm

Wing Span50–60 cm

Male Weight0.55 kg

Female Weight0.5 kg

Life Expectancy20 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

Horned puffins breed on remote sea cliffs and rocky islands and spend most of the year far offshore. In breeding plumage they show a small black ‘horn’ above the eye and carry multiple fish crosswise in the bill thanks to spiny papillae on the palate and tongue. They are strong underwater fliers, using their wings to pursue schooling fish. Pairs are long-term and typically raise a single chick per season.

Gallery

This juvenile lacks the horn and brilliantly colored rhamphotheca seen in sexually mature birds during the breeding season

Horned puffin in eclipse plumage.

Three horned puffins on a cliff in Alaska.

A horned puffin flying over the ocean

A horned puffin floating on the water's surface

Horned puffin couple at Pribilof Islands

Nest with egg in a rock crevice, Aiktak Island, Alaska

Behaviour

Temperament

social and active

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats low over the water

Social Behavior

Highly colonial at breeding sites, nesting in rock crevices or among boulders. Pairs are monogamous and show strong site fidelity, usually laying a single egg. Both parents incubate and rear the chick. Away from colonies, birds are mostly solitary or in loose flocks at sea.

Migratory Pattern

Seasonal migrant

Song Description

At colonies it gives low, growling croaks and grunts from within crevices, more audible than musical. At sea it is generally quiet, vocalizing mainly during close social interactions.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Horned screamer

The horned screamer is a species of bird that belongs to a relatively small family, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern screamer in the genus Chauna. They are related to ducks, geese and swans, which are in the family Anatidae, but have bills looking more like those of game birds.

Horned sungem

The horned sungem is a species of hummingbird native to much of central Brazil and parts of Bolivia and Suriname. It prefers open habitats such as savanna and grassland and readily occupies human-created habitats such as gardens. It recently expanded its range into southern Amazonas and Espírito Santo, probably as a result of deforestation; few other hummingbird species have recently expanded their range. The horned sungem is a small hummingbird with a long tail and a comparatively short, black bill. The sexes differ markedly in appearance, with males sporting two feather tufts ("horns") above the eyes that are shiny red, golden, and green. Males also have a shiny blue head crest and a black throat with a pointed "beard". The female is plainer and has a brown or yellow-buff throat. The species is the only one within its genus, Heliactin.

Horsfield's bronze cuckoo

Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is a small cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Its size averages 22 g (0.78 oz) and is distinguished by its green and bronze iridescent colouring on its back and incomplete brown barring from neck to tail. Horsfield's bronze cuckoo can be distinguished from other bronze cuckoos by its white eyebrow and brown eye stripe. The Horsfield's bronze cuckoo is common throughout Australia preferring the drier open woodlands away from forested areas. This species was formerly placed in the genus Chrysococcyx.

Hose's broadbill

Hose's broadbill is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It was described by the British naturalist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1892 and is named after the British zoologist Charles Hose, who collected the holotype of the species. It is 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) long, with females weighing 92 g (3.2 oz) on average and males weighing 102–115 g (3.6–4.1 oz). Males are bright green and have conspicuous black spots on the wings, black markings on the head, blue underparts, black flight feathers, and a large green tuft covering most of the bill. Females have smaller forehead tufts, lime-green underparts with sky blue instead of azure blue on the undertail coverts, and lack black markings on the head, except for a black spot in front of the eye.