Puffins on North Atlantic Cliffs

Puffins on North Atlantic Cliffs is an original illustration set in Faroe Islands. It lies in high latitudes, where the climate is subpolar oceanic — cool summers, few frosts.

Several puffins stand at burrow entrances along the grass-topped edge of a steep basalt cliff. The foreground birds show black-and-white plumage and heavy triangular bills. Sea and low cloud fill the space beyond the cliff edge.

Why do puffins nest in burrows on top of the cliff?

Puffins nest in burrows dug into the turf on cliff tops — soil deep enough to dig, high enough to be safe, close enough to fish. Layered basalt makes those cliffs: stacked lava flows eroding into vertical faces with grass holding the top. The bill is brightly coloured only in the breeding season and is shed each year.

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