Fratercula corniculata

E Siberia and nw N America; winters to Japan and s California.

Northern North Pacific

The Horned Puffin can be found in the northern Pacific Ocean, from the coast of Japan and south-west Canada in the south, up to and including the Chukchi Sea in the north. It breeds on most of the islands and coasts in this area, up to the north of its range on Wrangel Island, Russia, but can only be found breeding as far south as the Queen Charlotte Islands (Canada) and Sakhalinsk (Russia)¹.

Fratercula corniculata, horned puffins, is widespread in the Pacific and low Arctic. It breeds along the coast of British Columbia, on some islands and peninsulas around Alaska, and along the Bering Sea coast of Russia. It winters off shore, mainly in the North Pacific. The species is commonly found on Russian islands but can also be seen off the coast of Japan and British Columbia, rarely as far south as southern California. Horned puffins tend to stay in their breeding grounds during the winter as long as the grounds are not iced over.

In Alaska, 50% percent of all individuals live ninety kilometers from the mainland of the west coast, on the Semidi Islands.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )

Other Geographic Terms: holarctic

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Breeding

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)) BREEDING: islands and coasts of Chukchi and Bering seas from Diomede Islands and Cape Lisburne south to the Aleutian Islands; from the Alaska Peninsula south to British Columbia; northeastern Siberia to the Kurile Islands; also Cooper Island, just east of Point Barrow, Alaska (see Johnson and Herter 1989). NON-BREEDING: open sea, breeding range south (casually) to Hawaii, California, Japan (AOU 1983).

Range mass: 581 to 648 g.

Average mass: 532 g.

Average length: 32 cm.

Range wingspan: 185.7 to 199.6 mm.

Average wingspan: 188.7 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; male larger

Length: 38 cm

Weight: 619 grams

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial
• Marine

Horned puffins nest in bluffs of fractured rock or crevices in cliff faces near the shoreline. They may also create burrows in upland areas. In the Semidi Islands, they occur in the same habitat as parakeet auklets (Aethia psittacula).

Horned puffins forage off shore close to their breeding colonies, spending most of the year in coastal waters. They show no preference with respect to water temperature or salinity. They winter off-shore, preferring open water areas with large populations of the pelagic fish on which they feed.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; polar ; terrestrial ; saltwater or marine

Aquatic Biomes: coastal

Depth range based on 33 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 26 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0 - 0
  Temperature range (°C): 11.964 - 16.416
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.224 - 3.951
  Salinity (PPS): 31.271 - 33.412
  Oxygen (ml/l): 5.650 - 6.323
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.366 - 0.721
  Silicate (umol/l): 2.315 - 11.023

Graphical representation

Temperature range (°C): 11.964 - 16.416

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.224 - 3.951

Salinity (PPS): 31.271 - 33.412

Oxygen (ml/l): 5.650 - 6.323

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.366 - 0.721

Silicate (umol/l): 2.315 - 11.023
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Comments: NON-BREEDING: mostly pelagic (AOU 1983). BREEDING: Nests on rocky coasts and islands, in cliff crevices and among boulders, rarely in ground burrows (AOU 1983). Has attempted breeding in boxes set out for black guillemots in northern Alaska (see Johnson and Herter 1989). Undoubtedly often uses same nest site in successive years.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

The main staple of horned puffins is fish such as juvenile herrings (genus Clupea), capelin (genus Mallotus), and sand lances (genus Ammodytes). Puffins also sometimes prey upon salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) and cod (genus Gadus). They capture fish by surface diving.  During the summer the diet varies. It may include fish, squid (class Cephalopoda), and other invertebrates. Diets of forty-one individuals from Buldir Islands contained, in order of abundance, squid, then fish, then marine worms (Polychaeta). The diet of the horned puffin during winter is not well studied. Puffin chicks are fed mostly raw fish.

Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic or marine worms; aquatic crustaceans; other marine invertebrates

Primary Diet: carnivore (Piscivore )

Comments: Feeds primarily on small fishes (e.g., sticklebacks, smelt, sand launces); cephalopods, crustaceans, and polychaetes usually secondary. Dives from ocean surface, forages underwater. See Wehle (1983) for feeding of young in Alaska.

Horned puffins prey on fish, squid, and marine worms, but the overall impact of this predation on prey populations is unknown. They have little impact on other auks because of the isolated nesting grounds this species prefers.

Fratercula corniculata is preyed upon mainly by introduced species. Significant predators include Arctic fox, red fox, and Norwegian rats. Nevertheless, predation does not substantially affect horned puffin populations because of their hard-to-reach nesting sites.

Known Predators:

• Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)
• Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
• Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

Comments: In North America, 435 known nesting sites in 1970's (Johnsgard 1987).

10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

Comments: Minimum estimate of 1,500,000 birds for North American populations (Johnsgard 1987). 1970's estimates: 1.5 million birds (conservative, no population estimates in some areas, 435 known colonies in Alaska.

Monitoring these birds is difficult and little is known about their communication. It is clear that horned puffins are not very vocal birds. When it does produce noise it is low pitched and comparative to a groan or growl. In aggressive defense they produce a sound described as "A-gaa-kah-kha-kha" and during head flicking there is a repetative "op-op-op-op." Visual displays are important in pair formation, courtship, and nest defense. Like all birds, horned puffins perceive their environments through visual, auditory, tactile and chemical stimuli.

Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic

The life span of Fratercula corniculata is not well studied. Some estimates are that it can survive 20 years or more.

In captivity the horned puffin does not do well, especially when taken as a chick. A chick's diet must be supplemented with vitamins or it dies quickly due to malnourishment and bacterial infections.

Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 20 (low) years.

The most common time for mating is either morning or evening. Birds indicate readiness by head flicking, which may be done either on land or in water. During this display, the bill may be open or closed. Members of a pair may mutually bow or put their bills side by side. Horned puffins form monogamous pairs.

Males may perform a swim display in which they raise themselves from the water and extend their necks upwards. Then they flick their heads, and at this time mounting is often observed. Mating takes place mostly in water with some rare cases on land.

Mating System: monogamous

The general reproductive behaviors of horned puffins are not as well known as those of most auks. Birds arrive in the breeding colonies between April and May. Colonies are usually small. The nesting sites are on steep slopes or cliffs, and nests are usually separated by a distance of 1.5 meters. The nest itself may be in a burrow, in a rock crevice (usually), or under a boulder. It is lined with feathers, grass, or debris collected by both sexes.

A mating pair produces one egg, which is oval in shape. If the egg is lost it is replaced in 10 to 21 days. The egg itself is gray with purple dots, a type of spotting that suggests an ancestral habit of laying eggs out in the open. Horned puffin eggs quickly become covered in guano and other debris. They incubate for around 41 days, and both males and females participate in caring for and incubating eggs.

After the egg is hatched, parental care continues for 6 days. Feeding of a chick is done during the day by both parents. The chick becomes able to manage its own body temperature between 5 and 6 days after hatching. After this and for the next 35 days, the chick is left alone in the nest while both parents bring it food. There is no evidence of post-fledging care and the chicks depart at night by themselves. Horned puffins reach reproductive maturity between 3 and 5 years of age.

Not much is known about the molting process besides that it takes place in autumn to winter, and bill ornaments are dropped at the end of caring for the chick.

Like some other marine birds, females have sperm storage glands. It is not known if they are functional.

Breeding interval: Horned puffins breed once yearly.

Breeding season: Horned puffins breed from April to July.

Average eggs per season: 1.

Range time to hatching: 40 to 42 days.

Range fledging age: 34 to 40 days.

Average fledging age: 35 days.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 to 5 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 to 5 years.

Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sperm-storing

Female horned puffins lay a single egg in the spring, which is incubated by both parents for 41 days. After the egg hatches, the parents tend the chick closely for the next week. The chick is born altricial, but is able to thermoregulate a little over a week after hatching. After that, the chick is left alone in the nest for the next 37 to 46 days while being attended by the parents only for feeding. Pairs defend their nests and males defend their mates. Males show a threat display and fight if provoked.

Parental Investment: altricial ; male parental care ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)

Most laying mid-June to early July in Alaska. Clutch size 1. Incubation 38-43 days (average 40), by both sexes. Young tended by both parents, fledges in 37-46 days (average 40). Frequently nests in large colony. See Johnsgard (1987).

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There are 5 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Specimens with Barcodes: 8
Species With Barcodes: 1

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Contributor/s

Justification

History

• 2008
  Least Concern
• 2004
  Least Concern

The estimated breeding population for horned puffins today is 1.2 million birds, with most breeding on islands off the coast of Alaska. The largest breeding populations are in the Semidi Islands with 350,000 breeders.

Horned puffin breeding numbers appear to have dropped from 1977 to well into the mid 1990’s. Overwater counts have produced conflicting results, however. Some have have not shown a significant decline, while others estimates have suggested that sea-bird populations, including horned puffins, dropped by 50 percent from 1972 to 1993. One boat-based viewing survey suggested a 79 percent drop in horned puffin populations in Alaska from 1972 to 1998.  Horned puffins have been found to carry toxic trace metals, including mercury and cadmium. These are contained in the fish that that puffins eat and have been found in the livers of horned puffins. Also, upon autopsy some horned puffin individuals have been found with PCBs and organochlorine pesticides.

Another major source of mortality in this species is bycatch in fishing gillnets. Losses due to bycatch were most significant in the 1950's through the 1990's, when tens of thousands of puffins were killed by salmon and squid fisheries. Since that time the bycatch has been more carefully monitored and has not led to further significant population decline.

US Migratory Bird Act: no special status

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N2B - Imperiled

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: Very large population size, many occurrences, little apparent threat.

Degree of Threat: C : Not very threatened throughout its range, communities often provide natural resources that when exploited alter the composition and structure over the short-term, or communities are self-protecting because they are unsuitable for other uses

Comments: Potential threat from oil spills in non-breeding season. Some Alaska populations may have been depleted by introduced foxes. Many are killed in Japanese gill-net fishery in the North Pacific (Lensink 1982, King, 1984).

This species has no significant negative impact on humans.

Alaskan Natives used horned puffins as food and clothing. Parkas are made from the tough skin of this auk and the feathers provide the natives with further insulation. The eggs are still collected as food in the Bering Straight region with minimal effect on the populations.  Fratercula corniculata also is the focus of tourism in some regions of Alaska.

Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material