Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and breeds in both Canada and northern Europe. The species is frequently found as far south as Massachusetts in the United States. In Europe this puffin breeds along the shores of Scandinavia, Iceland, and Britain.

The dark gray back and white breast, thick orange bill, and circular white pattern around the eye help identify this curious looking bird. The Atlantic Puffin is usually less than twelve inches in length. It is very similar to the Horned Puffin.

There are 3 subspecies. The subspecies naumanni is found from northern Canada to Greenland and east to northern Novaya Zemlya. (Novaya Zemlya is a long narrow island north of western Russia.) The subspecies arctica is found from Baffin Island south to Maine and east to Scandinavia and southern Novaya Zemlya. The subspecies grabae is found in the Faeroe Islands, southern Scandinavia, and south to the British Isles and northwestern France.

Auks, Murres, Guillemots, and Puffins (Family Alcidae) fill the ecological niche in the northern hemisphere that is filled by the Penguins in the southern hemisphere. There are 23 or 24 species in this family depending upon how one counts the extinct Great Auk that was previously found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Anthony Gaston in his book on Seabirds, a Natural History, along with a fellow researcher placed a depth gauge on a murre. They found that murre had dove to depths over 100 meters.

Shorebirds (Order Charadriformes) are a group of 305 species of worldwide birds. While good fliers, they are much observed feeding along seashores and in the vicinity of inland bodies of water. Seagulls and sandpipers are typical representatives of this order.

There are many different families herein, and most authors end up with about 18 different families. Other groups included herein include the plovers, curlews, coursers, oyster catchers, jacanas, terns, phalaropes, plovers, stilts and avocets, skimmers, snipes, jaegers, and auks and puffins.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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