Fratercula cirrhata
Silhouette: Richard Bartz (photo) and Albertonykus (silhouette) · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make up the genus Fratercula and is easily recognizable by its thick red bill and yellow tufts.
Tufted puffins are around 35 cm (14 in) in length with a similar wingspan and weigh about three-quarters of a kilogram (1.6 lbs), making them the largest of all the puffins. Birds from the western Pacific population are somewhat larger than those from the eastern Pacific, and male birds tend to be slightly larger than females.
They are primarily black with a white facial patch, and, typical of other puffin species, feature a very thick bill, primarily red with some yellow and occasionally green markings. Their most distinctive feature and namesake are the yellow tufts (Latin: cirri) that appear annually on birds of both sexes as the summer reproductive season approaches. Their feet become bright red and their face is also bright white in the summer. During the feeding season, the tufts molt off and the plumage, beak, and legs lose much... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Puffin sighting in Seattle on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 248th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Puffin in Seattle on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tufted Puffin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Seattle, in our data
Seattle is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Tufted Puffin sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Alcidae
The closest relatives of the Tufted Puffin that you can see in Seattle (family Alcidae, Auks, Murres, and Puffins) are Pigeon Guillemot (about 10%) and Rhinoceros Auklet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tufted Puffin is recorded against all the birds logged in Seattle (19 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
