Tufted puffins have a black body, with a contrasting large red and orange bill with red around their eyes, and a white face. They have a  short tail and short legs with large, webbed feet which help them in water.

During the summer breeding season, they will have yellow plumes on their head.  The males are slightly larger than the females, but both are about 15 inches in length, and weigh about 2 pounds.

Tufted puffins live for most of their life at sea in the Northern Pacific, from California and Alaska to Japan. They winter in open deep water in the central Pacific ocean.

These birds will nest in colonies on rocky cliffs near the ocean and require sloping land to build burrows. However, they don’t spend a lot of time on land so they will nest on islands or near shorelines. 

Tufted puffins will feed on a lot of small fish found in the Pacific ocean, and they forage in large numbers to capture these fish underwater, going as far as 360 feet deep.

When they migrate to the deep waters of the Pacific, they will feed on invertebrates, such as squid, octopus, and other crustaceans. They tend to attack fish in schools and other prey in groups.

Tufted puffins will excavate a burrow in the side of a sea cliff for nesting use, lining the  inside with leaves, grasses, and feathers. They are monogamous birds and will breed in April when the female puffin lays one egg. The male and female help with incubation, which lasts around 45 days. 

The chicks stay in the nest for about 50 days after hatching and rely on the mother and father to bring it food. When the young puffin is able, it leaves to go to the sea, and does not return to the colony for 2 years.

Tufted puffins can use their beaks to carry 10 fish at a time, which is beneficial when bringing back food to the nest for young birds.

Tufted puffins have a unique coloration on their head with their red beak and yellow plume feathers and can often be nicknamed the “sea parrot” or “clown of the sea”.