Common Name: The animal chosen is the Atlantic Puffin, also known as the Atlantic Puffin. Scientific Name: The scientific name of the puffin is Fratercula Arctica. Puffins are part of the penguin family, classified in the Alcidae family. They belong to the order Charadriiformes, a diverse order of small to medium-sized birds that typically live near water. (A few occupy deserts and rainforests.) Habitat: The Atlantic puffin mates and raises its young in a burrow, usually in the ground between rocks on steep cliffs facing the ocean. By nesting in remote locations, the puffin avoids detection from predators. These burrows are usually about three feet long and curved. At the bottom of the burrow, the parents build a nest of grass, leaves and feathers for their young. Sometimes the nest is left unlined. Often, puffins will designate a specific location for a bathroom. This is generally placed at the bend of the curved burrow. In order to keep their young intact, parents regularly clean the nest. Oddly enough, the puffin is also known to occupy the empty burrows of rabbits. Although this habitat is potentially more dangerous, many puffins survive in this nesting situation. Many of these islands are barren and have few or no land predators. Puffins live at sea without mating or raising their young. They glide on water, swim on the ocean surface, and dive to depths of nearly 200 feet to feed. Puffins generally spend their entire winter at sea. Young puffins will spend two to three years at sea before returning to land to mate. Ecosystem: The puffin ecosystem contains a combination of terrestrial, aerial and aquatic plants and animals. For the cliff...... middle of paper...... ins are relatively calm creatures when above ground. If puffins are disturbed by humans, they will leave their nest and not return. This led to the extinction of puffin colonies in parts of the European coastline. When puffin pups become mature enough to leave the nest, they wait until nighttime to emerge. Often on its first exit from the nest, the young puffin acclimatizes to its environment and begins to descend the perilous cliff. Once at the bottom, he quickly leaves towards the sea. He leaves the island alone and will not return to land for two to three years. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Puffin http://www. iucnredlist.org/details/22694927/0 http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/atlantic-puffin/ http://projectpuffin.audubon.org/puffin-faqs