GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILL, ETC. 145 
PUFFIN. 
Of all the Auks the present species, the Alka 
arctica of Linnzus, and the Fratercula arctica of 
modern ornithologists, is not only the best known, 
but the most readily distinguished. The Puffin 
cannot readily be mistaken for any other bird along 
the coast, his big brightly coloured beak and comical 
facial expression, being never failing marks of his 
identity. In the colour of its plumage the Puffin 
somewhat closely resembles the Guillemot or the 
Little Auk, only the throat and the sides of the head 
are white. The most striking feature in the Puffin 
is its beak—a deep, laterally flattened, coulter - 
shaped organ, banded with blue, yellow, and red, 
singularly grooved and embossed with horny ex- 
crescences, although these latter are only assumed 
for the pairing season, and are cast again when the 
breeding period is over! Unlike most birds, 
therefore, the Puffin displays his wedding ornaments 
on his beak! And this singular peculiarity appears 
to be common to various other species, more 
distantly allied, yet undoubtedly of close affinity with 
the English Puffin. Many local names have been 
applied to the Puffin in consequence of its singular 
bill. Bottlenose, Coulterneb, and Sea Parrot, may 
be mentioned as the most commonly used. Like 
most, if not all, members of the Auk family, the 
Puffin is not seen much near the land after the 
breeding season has passed. Indeed, it is very 
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