13 Dec 2010

Puffin

The magnetic bookmark with a puffin from Malta.



Puffin - an unmistakable bird with its black back and white underparts, and distinctive black head with large pale cheeks and a tall, flattened, brightly-coloured bill. Its comical appearance is heightened by its red and black eye-markings and bright orange legs. They shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Used as a symbol for books and other items, this clown among seabirds is one of the world's favourite birds.

These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.

2 comments:

Karen said...

Beautiful!!!

Bookmark Kingdom said...

I think, birds in Mexico are also very nice and colourful :)

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