This issue of Puffin Report tells the story of the Atlantic puffin and its return to Eastern Egg Rock. The scientific name for the Atlantic puffin is Fratercula arctica . Puffins earned this title because they clasp their webbed feet together when they come out of the water and look as if they are praying. Often, these little brothers of the north are confused with another familiar seabird, the penguin. But puffins and penguins are not related.
Common puffins spend their lives in the northern hemisphere, in the north Atlantic Ocean.
Penguins, on the other hand, live in the southern hemisphere. Unlike puffins, penguins have small wi ngs and cannot fly. They also lack the colorful beaks found in puffins. These two types of birds would never meet in the wild. One reason that these seabirds are confused is that they have similar body coloration.