Fish Alignment Tools
One day, I hope to get a photo of a puffin with a series of fish tucked into its beak, bringing them home to feed their young. On my recent visit to the east coast, I didn't see evidence of that behaviour. Perhaps the babes hadn't hatched out yet.
To help it catch and hold up to 10 small fish at a time, the Atlantic puffin has a few tools at its disposal. First, their colourful beak is long enough to hold the fish. Next, the birds have a series of protrusions from the roof of its mouth. These denticles point back, towards the throat, acting like little hooks to keep captured fish from slipping away. Another important tool is their tongue, which can be pressed up against the denticles to retain the fish it has already caught and then open its beak to catch more fish. Very cool!
Fish Alignment Tools
One day, I hope to get a photo of a puffin with a series of fish tucked into its beak, bringing them home to feed their young. On my recent visit to the east coast, I didn't see evidence of that behaviour. Perhaps the babes hadn't hatched out yet.
To help it catch and hold up to 10 small fish at a time, the Atlantic puffin has a few tools at its disposal. First, their colourful beak is long enough to hold the fish. Next, the birds have a series of protrusions from the roof of its mouth. These denticles point back, towards the throat, acting like little hooks to keep captured fish from slipping away. Another important tool is their tongue, which can be pressed up against the denticles to retain the fish it has already caught and then open its beak to catch more fish. Very cool!