Mega Puffin - a photo on Flickriver

Mega Puffin

            When I first saw this Puffin I thought it looked large.  And I was right, because Puffins get larger as you travel north with those in Svalbard being the largest. These northern Puffins weigh about 25% more than British Puffins and their beaks are about 1cm longer and almost 1cm deeper too.  The wing length  is also about 2cm longer.  The Puffins in Svalbard were classified as subspecies naumanni, but there is so much overlap between the three subspecies (grabae, arctica and naumanni) that the differences are considered to be clinal (ie gradual).  But to complicate matters, a population at Thule in northern Greenland has both small and large birds, that don't interbreed, and their DNA shows they have not interbred for a long time.  The same study showed that the northern naumanni Puffins are the most genetically distinct of the three subspecies.  Incidentally, those that breed in Britain are the smallest and are classed as subspecies grabae.   As Puffins age their bills become more convex and they develop more grooves in the red part.  The rather convex bill and two distinct grooves suggest this individual is 4 or 5 years old.  I took this photograph near a glacier in Burgerbukta in southern Spitsbergen.
   

Taken on: July 13, 2023

Tags:

Fratercula

arctica

Arctic

Puffin

Svalbard

Spitsbergen

Tim Melling « less

Sets appears in: • Svalbard 2023 • Explore

Groups appears in: • in explore • WONDERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL.MARAVILLAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA EN

Stats: 15,920 views / 85 comments

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