Puffin vs Guillemot for Kids
The Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica, and Common Guillemot, Uria aalge, are both auks—northern seabirds that fly in air and use their wings underwater. The Puffin is the smaller bird, famous for a tall colorful breeding bill and a nest hidden in a grassy burrow. The Guillemot is more than twice as heavy, has a long pointed bill and places one large egg directly on a crowded rock ledge. In North America, the Common Guillemot is called the Common Murre.
Atlantic Puffin
- Type: Living
- Group: Auk family species (Fratercula arctica)
- Known for: Colorful flattened breeding bill, pale cheeks, orange feet, grassy burrows and carrying several small fish at once
- Diet: Carnivore; mainly small schooling fish, plus crustaceans and other marine prey
- Special skill: Presses caught fish against spiny mouth surfaces with its tongue, leaving the bill free to catch more
Common Guillemot
- Type: Living
- Group: Auk family species; called Common Murre in North America (Uria aalge)
- Known for: Chocolate-brown and white breeding plumage, long pointed bill, vast cliff colonies and a single large patterned egg
- Diet: Carnivore; mainly fish, plus squid, worms and crustaceans
- Special skill: Uses short powerful wings to fly through water after fish and can dive far below the surface
Quick Answer
A breeding Atlantic Puffin is small and chunky, with a black back, white face and belly, orange feet and a bright triangular bill. A Common Guillemot is much larger and taller, with chocolate-brown upperparts, a white belly and a slim pointed bill. Puffins hide one egg in a burrow. Guillemots place one large patterned egg on an open cliff ledge.
Atlantic Puffin vs Common Guillemot: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Atlantic Puffin | Common Guillemot |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Fratercula arctica | Uria aalge |
| Average British mass | About 386.9 g in BTO records | About 890.9 g in BTO records |
| Breeding colors | Black and white with pale cheeks, orange feet and a bright bill | Chocolate-brown above and white below, with dark feet |
| Bill | Tall, deep and flattened from the side | Long, narrow, straight and pointed |
| Nest site | Soil burrow or sheltered crevice | Open rocky ledge, seastack or island ground |
| Eggs | One egg inside the nest chamber | One large, strongly patterned egg without a built nest |
| Colony spacing | Burrows spread through turf above cliffs | Adults may stand almost shoulder to shoulder on ledges |
| Chick’s departure | Young leaves the burrow for sea, often under darkness | Young jumps from ledge before it can fly properly and follows its father to sea |
| Winter appearance | Face darkens and colorful outer bill plates are shed | Face and throat become white, with a dark cap and eye line |
| North American name | Atlantic Puffin | Common Murre |
How Are Puffins and Guillemots Alike?
- Both are members of the auk family, built for northern oceans and rocky breeding islands.
- Both have blackish or dark upperparts and white underparts that create countershading in water.
- Both use their wings like flippers to chase fish underwater.
- Both lay one egg and usually raise a single chick during a breeding attempt.
- Both spend most of the year at sea and return to land mainly for nesting.
How Are Puffins and Guillemots Different?
- The Common Guillemot is more than twice as heavy on average as the Atlantic Puffin.
- A Puffin has a deep colorful breeding bill; a Guillemot has a long narrow pointed bill.
- Puffins nest in burrows, while Guillemots place eggs on exposed rock ledges without a proper nest.
- Puffin colonies spread across grassy slopes; Guillemots crowd tightly together on bare cliffs.
- A Puffin chick leaves from a hidden burrow, while a Guillemot chick makes a dramatic ledge-to-sea jump.
Puffin vs Guillemot Adaptation Showdown
- Size – Common Guillemot: BTO’s average British mass is about 891 g, compared with roughly 387 g for the Atlantic Puffin.
- Speed – Tie: Both beat short wings rapidly in air and underwater, but different measurements do not support one all-purpose winner.
- Strength – Common Guillemot: Its much larger body and powerful diving muscles provide more total force; this is not a fight prediction.
- Stealth – Atlantic Puffin: A deep burrow conceals its egg and chick from weather and many watching predators.
- Social – Common Guillemot: Its nesting ledges can hold tens of thousands of birds packed far more tightly than Puffin burrows.
- Swimming – Tie: Both are superb wing-propelled divers, with each adapted to different prey, depths and local waters.
- Weirdest – Atlantic Puffin: Its tongue and spiny mouth grip earlier fish while the bill opens again to collect several more.
Fun Puffin vs Guillemot Facts
A Bill That Changes
After breeding, a Puffin sheds colorful outer bill plates and its face becomes darker. Bright colors return before the next nesting season.
One Bill, Many Fish
Backward-pointing spines and a rough tongue help a Puffin hold fish already caught while opening its bill to grab another.
No Nest Bowl Needed
A Guillemot lays one large egg directly on rock. Egg color and markings vary greatly, helping parents recognize their own egg in a crowd.
The Jumpling’s Leap
Before it can fly properly, a Guillemot chick leaves the ledge in a fluttering jump. Its father accompanies it at sea and continues feeding it.
Flying Underwater
Both birds fold and sweep their wings to produce thrust beneath the surface. Their feet steer while dense bodies reduce unwanted floating.
Puffin vs Guillemot Quiz
Which bird has a colorful flattened breeding bill? A) Atlantic Puffin B) Common Guillemot C) Both Answer: A) Atlantic Puffin
Which bird is much larger and heavier? A) Atlantic Puffin B) Common Guillemot C) They are equal Answer: B) Common Guillemot
Which bird nests in a grassy burrow? A) Atlantic Puffin B) Common Guillemot C) Neither Answer: A) Atlantic Puffin
Which bird lays its egg directly on a rock ledge? A) Atlantic Puffin B) Common Guillemot C) Both Answer: B) Common Guillemot
What is the Common Guillemot called in North America? A) Common Murre B) Sea Parrot C) Black Tern Answer: A) Common Murre
Puffin vs Guillemot FAQ
Is a Guillemot a kind of penguin?
No. Guillemots are flying Northern Hemisphere auks. Penguins are flightless Southern Hemisphere birds from a different family.
Why is a Puffin’s bill colorful?
The bright breeding bill helps with display and recognition. Its colorful outer plates are shed after the nesting season.
Why does a Guillemot not build a normal nest?
Its body, egg and behavior are adapted to crowded ledges, where the adult incubates the single egg directly on bare rock.
Can both birds fly underwater?
In a sense, yes. They flap their wings for underwater thrust, although the movements and forces differ from flight in air.
Should people approach an auk colony?
No. Watch from marked viewpoints, avoid cliff edges and never block a bird’s route between its nest and the sea.
Animal Words to Know
- Auk: A northern seabird in the family Alcidae, including puffins, guillemots and razorbills.
- Burrow: A tunnel or chamber dug into soil and used as shelter or a nest.
- Colony: A place where many birds gather to breed.
- Countershading: Dark color above and pale color below, helping an animal blend into water from different directions.
- Ledge: A narrow, nearly horizontal shelf of rock on a cliff.
Design Two Auk Apartments
Design Two Auk Apartments
Draw a cutaway grassy Puffin burrow with a tunnel, hidden nest chamber and one egg. Beside it, draw a tall sea cliff with tightly packed Guillemots and one patterned egg per pair on narrow ledges. Add arrows showing each chick’s different route to the ocean.
Meet Each Animal
Want the full fact file? Here are quick highlights from each animal’s own facts page.
Atlantic Puffin Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageCommon Guillemot Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageMore Animal Comparisons
Pick another animal matchup and keep exploring. Tiny facts, big questions, very serious animal business.
Make an Animal Story
Create an auk story about a colorful burrow-builder meeting a cliff chick preparing for its first giant leap!