Fratercula corniculata
Silhouette: Richard Bartz (photo) and Albertonykus (silhouette) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) 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.
It is similar in appearance to the Atlantic puffin, its closest relative of the North Atlantic, but differs by a "horn" of black skin located above the eye, present in adult birds. The binomial name of this species, Fratercula corniculata, comes from the Medieval Latin fratercula, meaning "friar"; their black-and-white plumage resembling the robes of monks. Corniculata means "horn-shaped" or "crescent-shaped", in reference to the black horn above the bird's eye.
The vernacular name puffin – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), formerly known as the "Manks puffin". It is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English pophyn or poffin) used for the cured carcasses. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name at a much later stage, possibly because of its similar nesting habits, and it was formally applied... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Alaska Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Oregon Coast Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Georgia Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Aquarium of the Pacific | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Alaska SeaLife Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Oklahoma Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | National Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Hatfield Visitors Center | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Horned Puffin sighting in Katmai National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 93 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horned Puffin in Katmai National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–July and September, the lowest months. April and October–February have too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horned 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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Horned Puffin sightings, Katmai National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kenai Fjords National Park (United States, about 70%).
Same family: Alcidae
The closest relatives of the Horned Puffin that you can see in Katmai National Park (family Alcidae, Auks, Murres, and Puffins) are Pigeon Guillemot (about 10%) and Marbled Murrelet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horned Puffin is recorded against all the birds logged in Katmai National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
