GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILL, ETC. 145 

 PUFFIN. 



Of all the Auks the present species, the Alca 

 arctica of Linnaeus, 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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