Tufted puffin Latin "fratercula", friar, a reference to the black and white plumage which resembles monastic robes. The specific name "cirrhata" is Latin for "curly-headed", from "cirrus", a curl of hair. The vernacular name "puffin" – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, the Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"), formerly known as the "Manks puffin". It is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English "pophyn" or "poffin") used for the cured carcasses. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name at a much later stage, possibly because of its similar nesting habits,
Gwennap Head 15 October each year and most of the recording was by volunteers who spent up to twelve hours a day on seawatch. The main targeted species were Balearic shearwater ("Puffinus mauretanicus") and basking shark, along with the ocean sunfish (or common mola). Marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus") were additional main targets. During a seawatch on 28 August 2015 a red-billed tropicbird ("Phaethon aethereus") was seen over the Runnel Stone, a bird that usually frequents tropical areas. Gwennap Head is part of the Land’s End granite massif with shallow, free-draining and acidic soils. The dominant