Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Horned Puffin

Fratercula corniculata

(Naumann, 1821)

Horned Puffin

G5Secure Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101883
Element CodeABNNN12030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyAlcidae
GenusFratercula
Other Common Names
Macareux cornu (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Constitutes a superspecies with F. arctica (AOU 1983).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-07
Change Date1997-12-23
Edition AuthorsMehlman, D.W.
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Very large population size, many occurrences, little apparent threat.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDING: islands and coasts of Chukchi and Bering seas from Diomede Islands and Cape Lisburne south to the Aleutian Islands; from the Alaska Peninsula south to British Columbia; northeastern Siberia to the Kurile Islands; also Cooper Island, just east of Point Barrow, Alaska (see Johnson and Herter 1989). NON-BREEDING: open sea, breeding range south (casually) to Hawaii, California, Japan (AOU 1983).
Occurrences Comments
In North America, 435 known nesting sites in 1970's (Johnsgard 1987).
Threat Impact Comments
Potential threat from oil spills in non-breeding season. Some Alaska populations may have been depleted by introduced foxes. Many are killed in Japanese gill-net fishery in the North Pacific (Lensink 1982, King, 1984).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

NON-BREEDING: mostly pelagic (AOU 1983). BREEDING: Nests on rocky coasts and islands, in cliff crevices and among boulders, rarely in ground burrows (AOU 1983). Has attempted breeding in boxes set out for black guillemots in northern Alaska (see Johnson and Herter 1989). Undoubtedly often uses same nest site in successive years.

Reproduction

Most laying mid-June to early July in Alaska. Clutch size 1. Incubation 38-43 days (average 40), by both sexes. Young tended by both parents, fledges in 37-46 days (average 40). Frequently nests in large colony. See Johnsgard (1987).
Terrestrial Habitats
Bare rock/talus/screeCliff
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
OregonSNAYes
WashingtonSNAYes
AlaskaS5Yes
CanadaN2B,N2N
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS2BYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

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Roadless Areas (9)
Alaska (9)
AreaForestAcres
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
MontagueChugach National Forest204,875
Nellie JuanChugach National Forest713,697
Outer IslandsTongass National Forest99,862
Prince William Sound Is.Chugach National Forest118,698
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
South KuiuTongass National Forest62,452
References (21)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Bent, A.C. 1919. Life histories of North American diving birds. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 107. Washington, D.C.
  4. Gaston, A. J., and J. M. Hipfner. 2000. Thick-billed Murre (<i>Uria lomvia</i>). No. 497 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  5. Gaston, A. J., et al. 1994. Population parameters of thick-billed murres at Coats Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Condor 96:935-948.
  6. Golovkin, A. N. 1984. Seabirds nesting in the USSR: the status and protection of populations. Pages 473-486 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  7. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  8. Hatch, S. A., and M. A. Hatch. 1990. Breeding seasons of oceanic birds in a subarctic colony. Can. J. Zool. 68:1664-1679.
  9. Hyslop, C., and J. Kennedy, editors. 1992. Bird trends: a report on results of national ornithological surveys in Canada. Number 2, Autumn 1992. Migratory Birds Conservation Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. 20 pp.
  10. Johnsgard, P. A. 1987. Diving birds of North America. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. xii + 292 pp.
  11. Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp.
  12. King, W. B. 1984. Incidental mortality of seabirds in gillnets in the North Pacific. Pages 709-715 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  13. Lensink, C. J. 1984. The status and conservation of seabirds in Alaska. Pages 13-27 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Publ. No. 2.
  14. Mostello, C. S., N. A. Palaia, and R. B. Clapp. 2000. Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata). No. 525 in A. Poole and F. Gill (editors). The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28 pp.
  15. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  16. Nettleship, D. N. 1996. Family Alcidae (auks). Pages 678-723 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (Eds.) Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 3. Lynx Editions, Barcelona, Spain.
  17. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  18. Schreiber, E. A., R. W. Schreiber, and G. A. Schenk. 1996. Red-footed Booby (<i>Sula sula</i>). No. 241 in A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Amerian Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 24 pp.
  19. Sealy, S. G., editor. 1990. Auks at sea. Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Studies in Avian Biology No. 14. vi + 180 pp.
  20. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  21. Wehle, D. H. S. 1983. The food, feeding, and development of young tufted and horned puffins in Alaska. Condor 85: 427-442.