Read more @ Nature Photography Blog. The Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata, Macareux huppￃﾩ, TUPU) is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk (Alcidae) family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make up the Fratercula genus and is easily recognizable by its thick red bill and flowing yellow tufts. Tufted Puffins are preyed upon by various avian raptors such as Snowy Owls, Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons, and mammals like the Arctic Foxes. Foxes seem to prefer the puffin over other birds, making the bird a main target. Choosing inaccessible cliffs and entirely mammal-free islands protects them from terrestrial predators while laying eggs in burrows is effective in protecting them from egg-scavengers like gulls and ravens. First described in 1769 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas, The Tufted Puffin gets its generic name from the Latin Fratercula 'little brother' and the specific epithet, cirrhata 'tufted'. Since it may be more closely related to the Rhinoceros Auklet than the other puffins it is sometimes placed in the genus Lunda. The corner of the Puffin's bill is a fleshy membrane which allows the bird to open it's lower bill almost parallel to the top. This clamping action, combine with a series of backward pointing spines on their tongue and roof of mouth, allow the puffin to gather a great number of fish in one trip. They average 10 fish per trip but have been observed carrying up to 60!! Tufted puffin were once hunted for food. Their tough hides were used to make parkas, the warm feathers worn toward the inside. Today they are a species of least concern with an estimated global population of 2,400,000 individuals. St Paul is the largest of four volcanic islands which make up the Pribilof Islands in the middle of the Bering Sea (Otter, Walrus, St. George and St. Paul). The Pribilof Islands were discovered and named by the Russian Navigator, Gavriel Pribylov in 1786. In 1788 a group of Russian fur traders enslaved and relocated Aleuts from Siberia, Unalaska and Atka so they could hunt and process fur seals. The descendants of those Aleuts still live on St Paul and St George though the seal hunt today is only allowed for subsistence, not commercial means. In 1867 the islands were passed on to the United States along with mainland Alaska. St Paul has garnered fame from the Discovery Channel show "Deadliest Catch" as a safe haven for the crab boats to offload crab and rest at the northern end of the C. opilio fishing grounds. On a good day the Trident Seafood plant processes up to 450,000 pounds of crab and employees up to 400 people. Along with the small community of Aleut and the seasonal employees at Trident, St Paul is home to over 248 species of birds, northern fur seal, blue fox and reindeer. It's one of the few places left in the world where you can sit quietly for hours and watch the birds fly past without hearing any human influence. via 500px http://ift.tt/1mRsE2v
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