Definition of puffin in English:
puffin
An auk (seabird) of northern and Arctic waters which nests in holes, with a large head and a massive brightly coloured triangular bill.
北极海鹦Genera Fratercula and Lunda, family Alcidae: three species, in particular the (Atlantic) puffin (F. arctica)
- A network of tracks lead to places where waders and wildfowl can be seen in their thousands, where buzzards ‘sky dance’ and where puffins, razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes jostle for space.
- We had seen guillemots, gannets, razorbills, puffins and cormorants by the time we reached the first of the four shipwrecks we would dive over this weekend.
- Like other puffins, this species has a large, laterally compressed bill.
- It reared some 175m above the water, its crevices packed with noisy gannets, puffins, guillemots and gulls.
- Our provincial bird, the puffin, nests here in staggering numbers.
- Scotland has seen significant rises in populations of gannets, common gulls and puffins, but other species, such as the arctic tern, are in steep decline.
- One would imagine this place to be a paradise of alcids of all types, guillemots, dovekies, puffins, razorbills, murres, and murrelets all splashing around in their black and white finery.
- Other island nesting birds, such as puffins and petrels, also were hit hard, but none as badly as the Aleutian Canada goose.
- It's been estimated that a million birds nest here, including puffins, razorbills, common and Brünnich's guillemots, fulmars and kittiwakes.
- Along thousands of miles of coastline, you will see colonies of seabirds clustered in cliffs - gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes.
- They can also see puffins, ospreys, ptarmigans, gannets, and a springtime explosion of breeding birds on the coastal cliffs.
- In spring and summer these become home to thousands of sea birds like guillemots, razorbills, puffins, fulmars and kittiwakes.
- The abundance of gulls, terns, skuas, guillemots and puffins has long been a prime tourist attraction, as well as of global wildlife significance.
- Various kittiwakes, puffins, cormorants and gulls are common birds found here.
- Do not let it run free on coastal islands because terns, eider ducks, puffins, and storm petrels are ground nesters.
- I was expecting to hear waves, wind, drops of water, a few puffins chirping away, perhaps even some crashing sounds as ice falls into the sea.
- The large offshore rock behind the eastern headland is The Mouls, which is a breeding site for puffins, gannets and kittiwakes.
- In coastal areas, for example, puffins, rock doves, fulmars and guillemots are most favoured items of diet.
- And rather than go hungry, the birds are preying on other seabirds like puffins and kittiwakes.
- Some flightless birds, such as living penguins, puffins, and rails, and the extinct auks and phororhacoids, are classified in the Neognathae along with most flying birds.
Origin
Middle English (denoting the Manx shearwater): apparently from puff + -ing3, with reference to the Manx shearwater's fat nestlings. The later use is a confusion, by association of nesting habits and habitat.
pelican from Old English:
The pelican has always been noted for its long bill and deep throat-pouch for scooping up fish. This distinctive feature probably gave the bird its name, which came from Greek pelekan, probably based on pelekus ‘axe’. In Britain a pelican crossing is a road crossing with traffic lights operated by pedestrians. The name, first used in 1966, was taken from the initial letters of the formal title, pedestrian light controlled crossing. Two other pedestrian crossings were given bird names by analogy with the pelican, the puffin (from pedestrian user-friendly intelligent), and toucan crossing. As bird names, puffin has a rather complicated history. It was used in Middle English for the Manx shearwater, probably from ‘puff, puffed up’, describing the shearwater's fat nestlings. As the two birds often nest together the name was then transferred to the bird we now call a puffin. Toucans, who first appeared in English in the mid 16th century, get their name from the language of the Amazonian Indians called the Tupi, and their name imitates their cry.
Rhymes
Definition of puffin in US English:
puffin
A hole-nesting auk (seabird) of northern and Arctic waters, with a large head and a massive, brightly colored triangular bill.
北极海鹦Genera Fratercula and Lunda, family Alcidae: three species, in particular the (Atlantic) puffin (F. arctica)
- Our provincial bird, the puffin, nests here in staggering numbers.
- Like other puffins, this species has a large, laterally compressed bill.
- In spring and summer these become home to thousands of sea birds like guillemots, razorbills, puffins, fulmars and kittiwakes.
- The abundance of gulls, terns, skuas, guillemots and puffins has long been a prime tourist attraction, as well as of global wildlife significance.
- In coastal areas, for example, puffins, rock doves, fulmars and guillemots are most favoured items of diet.
- Other island nesting birds, such as puffins and petrels, also were hit hard, but none as badly as the Aleutian Canada goose.
- It's been estimated that a million birds nest here, including puffins, razorbills, common and Brünnich's guillemots, fulmars and kittiwakes.
- We had seen guillemots, gannets, razorbills, puffins and cormorants by the time we reached the first of the four shipwrecks we would dive over this weekend.
- They can also see puffins, ospreys, ptarmigans, gannets, and a springtime explosion of breeding birds on the coastal cliffs.
- The large offshore rock behind the eastern headland is The Mouls, which is a breeding site for puffins, gannets and kittiwakes.
- Scotland has seen significant rises in populations of gannets, common gulls and puffins, but other species, such as the arctic tern, are in steep decline.
- Along thousands of miles of coastline, you will see colonies of seabirds clustered in cliffs - gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes.
- One would imagine this place to be a paradise of alcids of all types, guillemots, dovekies, puffins, razorbills, murres, and murrelets all splashing around in their black and white finery.
- A network of tracks lead to places where waders and wildfowl can be seen in their thousands, where buzzards ‘sky dance’ and where puffins, razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes jostle for space.
- And rather than go hungry, the birds are preying on other seabirds like puffins and kittiwakes.
- Various kittiwakes, puffins, cormorants and gulls are common birds found here.
- Do not let it run free on coastal islands because terns, eider ducks, puffins, and storm petrels are ground nesters.
- I was expecting to hear waves, wind, drops of water, a few puffins chirping away, perhaps even some crashing sounds as ice falls into the sea.
- It reared some 175m above the water, its crevices packed with noisy gannets, puffins, guillemots and gulls.
- Some flightless birds, such as living penguins, puffins, and rails, and the extinct auks and phororhacoids, are classified in the Neognathae along with most flying birds.
Origin
Middle English (denoting the Manx shearwater): apparently from puff + -ing, with reference to the Manx shearwater's fat nestlings. The later use is a confusion, by association of nesting habits and habitat.