Horned Puffin

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

Horned puffins are an ocean bird often found near islands in Alaska. During the winter, puffins range far from land in the North Pacific Ocean. Then in the spring and summer, they gather in colonies on the islands and shorelines to nest. They usually nest on cliffs or in rock crevasses, laying only one egg per year.

The face and bill on these birds change color with the changing seasons. In fall and winter, their face, and most of their bill, is gray, as pictured above. (I took this picture in September in Alaska). During the spring and summer, horned puffins have white faces and yellow bills with a red tip.

Male and female of this species are the same color, which scientist call monomorphic. (We scientists like to use big words – it makes us feel important).

The primary food of the puffin is fish, but can also include an occasional squid or crustacean. The puffin dives under the surface to capture its food. This bird swims using its wings to propel it through the water, and its feet as rudders to steer.

Horned puffins are about crow-sized, with a wingspan of almost two feet.

I find puffins rather interesting to watch. Their song sounds a bit like they are grunting at each other. They appear unhurried, and it seems to me they regard people with a slight look of amusement.

Depending upon who you ask, there are hundreds of billions of individual birds on our planet, with more than ten thousand different species. And all of these species together didn’t even get a verse of their own in the Biblical account of creation, instead being included with the rest of the sea creatures. If I could create something like a puffin, and ten thousand other kinds of birds, I’d make a lot bigger deal out of it myself!

What an awesome Creator.

Have a great day.