Tufted Puffin

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Tufted Puffin in the UK

Tufted Puffin has one accepted British record. An adult was watched and photographed on the Swale off Oare Marshes, Kent, on 16 September 2009. It stayed only briefly and seven people saw it. The species is on the British List in Category A on the strength of that bird. It breeds around the North Pacific, so any bird here has crossed the Arctic or been carried a very long way. A bird photographed from a boat off Land's End in May 2016 was never submitted and is not an accepted record.

Where and when to see a Tufted Puffin

There is no pattern to work from with a single record. The 2009 bird was on a north Kent estuary in mid September, not at a seabird colony. Elsewhere in the North Atlantic, birds have been seen in Sweden, on Bear Island and near the Faroes, and one was photographed at a puffin colony on Saint Pierre and Miquelon in July 2025. The realistic plan is to check every puffin on seawatches and colony visits, and to photograph anything with an all-dark body.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Sea (extreme vagrant).
Diet: Fish.
Field note: One UK record.

How to identify a Tufted Puffin

Bigger and heavier than Atlantic Puffin, and the body is black all over, including the belly. A breeding adult has a white face, long straw-yellow plumes sweeping back from behind the eye and a large orange-red bill. In winter the face turns dusky and the plumes are lost, leaving a dark, thickset auk with a deep orange bill. Young birds have a smaller, duller bill. In flight it looks pot-bellied and uniformly dark, with no white underparts.

Call and song

Silent at sea. At North Pacific colonies it gives low growls from the burrow, but there is no call to listen for in Britain. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Atlantic Puffin: Atlantic Puffin is smaller with white underparts at every age, where Tufted Puffin is black-bellied.
• Razorbill: Razorbill is also dark above but has white underparts and a flat black bill with a white line.

Related guide British seabirds.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Tufted Puffin is a Legendary tier bird, worth +50 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Atlantic PuffinUncommon · Sea-cliff burrows (summer)
• Aleutian TernLegendary · Seabird colonies (extreme vagrant)
• American White PelicanLegendary · Wetlands (extreme vagrant)
• Ancient MurreletLegendary · Sea (extreme vagrant)
• Ascension FrigatebirdLegendary · Coast (extreme vagrant)
• Barolo ShearwaterLegendary · Open sea (extreme vagrant)

Tufted Puffin: quick answers

Has a Tufted Puffin ever been seen in the UK?

Yes, once. An adult was on the Swale off Oare Marshes in Kent on 16 September 2009. It did not stay, and no other bird has been accepted since.

Where can I see a Tufted Puffin in the UK?

You cannot plan for one. The single British bird stayed only briefly and was seen by seven people. To see the species, go to the North Pacific, where it breeds on coasts and islands from California north to Alaska and across to Russia and northern Japan.

Is the Tufted Puffin rare in the UK?

It is among the rarest birds on the British List, with one record. The first accepted record for the Western Palearctic was in Sweden in June 1994. Sightings in the North Atlantic have picked up a little since, which may be linked to reduced Arctic sea ice opening a route from the Pacific.

Kit that helps

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