It’s a “tuft” life for the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). This sea bird inhabits the North Pacific, where it lives in a large colony that nests on rocky cliffs.
It uses its thick bill to dig burrows as deep as 5 feet (1.5 meters) into a cliff! Throughout much of the year, it has an orange bill, and its body is covered in sleek black plumage. But come breeding season, a patch of white embellishes its face, its bill becomes a bright orange-red color, and a golden yellow tuft grows above each eye! The transformation happens to both males and females.
themasked lapwing is a large bird found in australia, new zealand, and new guinea. they are commonly found by the edges of wetlands and open fields, where they primarily feed on worms. although fairly docile and reclusive through much of the year, they are known for their extreme defensiveness during the breeding season. when fighting or scaring off potential predators, they use the bright yellow spurs on their wings. although they are sometimes referred to as ‘masked plovers’, they aren’t a member of the plover family.
Snowy Plovers, Charadrius nivosus, a near-threatened American shorebird numbering about 31,000 breeding individuals. It is closely related to the Kentish Plover, its Old World sister taxon.
