A Raft of Information: PUFFINS

Puffins

By Susan E. Quinlan

Lerner Publications, 2009

ISBN# 978-1-58013-944-1

Nonfiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puffins, with strong, brightly colored bills, and stubby wings are ocean birds, coming to land only to nest. A member of the auks, puffins ride on the waves offshore for weeks at a time with other puffins in great groups called rafts. They live in the frigid Arctic waters.

 

Adaptations from bill to foot enable this hardy bird to thrive in the harsh Arctic environment. From a special gland that lets them excrete salt from the ocean water they drink to the ridged tongue and mouth allowing them to carry many fish at once to their young, puffins are uniquely developed to occupy this Arctic niche. Each specific adaptation is thoroughly explored by the author, who spent two summers on a remote Alaskan island studying puffins with the University of  Alaska-Fairbanks.

 

Numerous, clear photos of puffins in their daily habits document the information in the text and close-up shots show many of the adaptations. This book will appeal to the older elementary and middle school aged students.

 

Activity 1

Read the book. Locate five specific adaptations that allow puffins to survive and thrive in the Arctic.  

 

Activity 2

Look up polar bears, arctic hares, walrus, or arctic terns. Find the adaptations each group has that allows them to survive in their cold environment. Compare them with the puffin’s adaptations for similar characteristics.

This book is one of Lerner’s Nature Watch series.

More about puffins:

Puffins by Kenny Taylor

Puffin’s Homecoming: The Story of an Atlantic Puffin by Darice Bailer