They belong to the family Alcidae, which includes auks, auklets, murres, murrelets, and guillemots. Alcids spend most of their lives on the open sea and only visit land to breed in the summer. In Alaska, puffins breed on coastal islands and headlands from Forrester Island in southeastern Alaska to Cape Lisburne on the Chukchi Sea Coast. Horned Puffins are more prevalent farther north than Tufted Puffins. Both males and females have the same markings.
Horned puffins are the species most often depicted on souvenirs.
In summer they have a black back and neck with white on the sides of the head and on their breast. The beak is bright yellow with a red tip. Tufted Puffins are named for tufts of feathers that curl back from each side of the head. They have dark, black bodies and white faces. They have orange feet,and their bills are red and yellow.