Head to head
King Penguin vs Atlantic Puffin
Puffins are often called the penguins of the north, and both are chunky black-and-white seabirds that stand upright, waddle on land, and dive for fish. But they are not related, they live at opposite ends of the planet, and one of them can fly.
| King Penguin | Atlantic Puffin | |
|---|---|---|
| Hemisphere | Southern: Antarctica, South America, Africa, Australasia | Northern: the North Atlantic and North Pacific |
| Family | Penguins (Spheniscidae), 18 species | Auks (Alcidae), with auklets and the extinct great auk |
| Can it fly | No; flightless | Yes; fast, low, whirring flight |
| Wings used for | Swimming only (flippers) | Both flying and flying underwater |
| Size | King penguin about 90 cm and 13 kg; emperor larger | Atlantic puffin about 30 cm and 0.5 kg |
| Bill | Straight and tapered | Deep and triangular, brightly striped in the breeding season |
| Nesting | On the surface in colonies, or on the feet (king and emperor) | In a burrow dug into a cliff-top slope |
| Chicks | One, with a long dependence | Usually one puffling, which fledges alone at night |
| Main sea predators | Leopard seals, orcas, sea lions | Great skuas, large gulls, seals |
Penguin vs Puffin: common questions
Are puffins penguins?
No. Puffins are auks, a Northern Hemisphere family, and they can fly. Penguins are a separate Southern Hemisphere family that lost the ability to fly. They look alike because both evolved into upright, black-and-white, wing-powered underwater divers, but they are not closely related.
Why do penguins and puffins look so similar?
Convergent evolution. A seabird that chases fish underwater by flapping its wings benefits from a torpedo-shaped body, a dark back and pale belly for camouflage, short legs set far back for steering, and dense waterproof plumage, so unrelated diving birds in cold seas keep arriving at the same design.
Was there ever a Northern Hemisphere penguin?
In effect, yes. The great auk was a large, flightless, black-and-white diving bird of the North Atlantic, and it was the original bird called penguin. It was hunted to extinction by 1844, leaving the auk family with only flying members such as the puffin.