Puffin are closely related, together composing the subfamily Fraterculini. The scientific name "Fratercula" is derived from Latin and means "little brother", a reference to the black and white plumage, which resembles monastic robes. The English name "puffin" – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"), formerly known as the "Manks puffin". Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English "pophyn" or "poffin") for the cured carcasses of nestling Manx shearwaters. The oldest alcid fossil is "Hydrotherikornis" from Oregon dating to the Late Eocene while
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