To which bird family do puffins and guillemots belong?
Atlantic puffin Atlantic puffin is a species of seabird in the order Charadriiformes. It is in the auk family, Alcidae, which includes the guillemots, typical auks, murrelets, auklets, puffins and the razorbill. The rhinoceros auklet ("Cerorhinca monocerata") and the puffins are closely related, together composing the tribe Fraterculini. The Atlantic puffin is the only species in the genus "Fratercula" to occur in the Atlantic Ocean. Two other species are known from the northeast Pacific, the tufted puffin ("Fratercula cirrhata") and the horned puffin ("Fratercula corniculata"), the latter being the closest relative of the Atlantic puffin. The scientific name "Fratercula" comes from the
Skúvoy the Faroese). There are 300–400 m cliffs along the west coast, which are home to many guillemots. Egg harvesting takes place in early June, though this occurs in the first week only so as to allow the guillemots to lay again. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for seabirds, especially northern fulmars (50,000 pairs), Manx shearwaters (10,000 pairs), European storm petrels (20,000 pairs), great skuas (25 pairs), Atlantic puffins (40,000 pairs), common guillemots (135,000 pairs) and black guillemots (150 pairs), as well as 40 breeding