Lonely
Puffin bird
Puffin
birds or Atlantic puffin birds (Fratercula
arctica) look cute for me, because of their colors, especially multi
colors of their bill.
They
are found mainly in the colder areas such as:
-
Iceland
-
North West Europe
-
Arctic fringes
-
Eastern North America
-
across Atlantic Ocean.
Unfortunately,
Puffin birds population are decreasing in the last 15 years due to
many factors.
Iceland
has the most Puffin bird population in the world, experienced lost of
million birds.
Birds
were estimated to decrease, from 7 million of 15 years ago to 5
million only in the present time in Iceland alone.
The
main causes are climate changes. Some experts said that over fishing
is also lead to decreasing of Puffin birds population.
Hunting
of puffin birds in Iceland
(credit
to Josh Haner, The New York Times).
Fishes
and crustaceans are source of foods for Puffin birds, but the birds
prefer fish than crustacean. The fish includes:
-
sand eels
-
herring
-
hake
-
capelin
Some
of these small fishes are caught by commercial fishing, contributed
to depletion of fish population, hence effect on bird’s food
supply.
In
case of Iceland that hunting is one of main causes to birds number.
The Iceland and Faroe island people consume puffin birds.
As
traditional cuisine, what Icelanders and Faroe islanders do with
puffin birds:
-
eat fresh heart of birds
-
grill the bird
-
smoke the meat
-
consume bird’s eggs
However,
declining of Puffin birds is every where, thus “the
International Union for Conservation of Nature” had listed the
birds as vulnerable (threaten to endanger in near future).
Have
you seen Puffin birds? Where?
