Their horn is now thought to be used for visual communication, perhaps even under water or at night. Long thought to be a drab, perhaps vestigial appendage, in 2019, researchers discovered that their horn is fluorescent, making it a bright beacon for animals who can see ultraviolet light – as rhinoceros auklets can. Although rhinoceros auklets are not officially puffins, they are considered puffins anatomically, and have been known as horn-billed puffins or unicorn puffins in the past.ĭuring the breeding season, a rhino horn-like protrusion extends from these auklets’ beaks. Puffins and rhinoceros auklets are closely related, and both are part of the tribe Fraterculini. The fourth species, the rhinoceros auklet, doesn’t look like the other three – it’s sooty grey rather than black and white, and has a rhino-like protrusion from its beak during the breeding season. With eight to ten million puffins converging on the island each year, Iceland is one of the best places on Earth to encounter Atlantic puffins. They start arriving as early as April, but the best time to see them is between May and early August. They’ve also been called the ‘clowns of the sea’, a nod to their endearing awkwardness on land.Įach spring and summer, more than half of the global population of Atlantic puffins descends on Icelandic coastlines to nest and breed. Their flamboyant beak has earned them the nickname ‘sea parrot’.
These spectacular seabirds can be identified by their distinctive beak, which has a bright orange-red tip, a blue or grey triangle closer to their face and white stripes during breeding season. With an estimated population of 12 to 14 million, Atlantic puffins are by far the most numerous puffins on the planet, and can be found from the European Arctic across the Atlantic Ocean to north-eastern America. The Atlantic puffin is the smallest of the four species, and the only one which can be seen in Europe.
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