See a Posse of Puffins Playfully Clash Beaks Like Children Playing With Toy Swords

It’s great fun down in the puffin enclosure! In this wonderful clip, we see these adorable little puffins interacting by crashing their beaks in a bizarre dance move. Two of the puffins do this while the others watch on in amazement. Every now and again they take a break to have a quick glance at one of the other birds – but they still get back to it. It’s almost as if the other puffins are waiting to have a turn! Scroll down to see the full footage of this extraordinary behavior and find out what is going on!

What Exactly Are Puffins?

Puffins are a small seabird that is related to guillemots. There are actually four different species of puffin. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) breeds in Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, and Norway. Then, there is the horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) which has a tuft above each eye and is found in Alaska, British Columbia, and Siberia. You can spot the tufted or crested puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) from its bold red bill and yellow tufts. They are found in Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington State. Finally, the strangely named rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) has a horn-like lump above its beak which it sheds yearly. It also has white plumes above its eyes and is found in Alaska, California, and Japan.

What Do Puffins Normally Eat?

Puffins feed primarily on fish. However, they will supplement this with animal plankton. Their main prey target is sand eels, capelin, and herring. However, you will also see them eating sprat, and the occasional squid and mollusk. When diving for food, they can stay under the water for 20 seconds at a time!

How Do Puffins Normally Behave?

As you can probably gather from this clip, puffins a very gregarious creatures and love company. You will find them in huge colonies that can contain as many as two million birds! They gather on grassy clifftops but also feed out at sea in groups. They gather together to form rafts which helps to protect them from their predators.

Puffins have an annual breeding season that lasts from April until mid-August. During courtship, they pair up and perform a ritual called ‘billing’. This is where the male and female rub their beaks together repeatedly. It is not unusual for this display to draw a crowd of puffins who watch on an excitement. That is exactly what is happening here!

Watch the Adorable Clip Below

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Giedriius/Shutterstock.com