Tour Scotland photograph of an Atlantic Puffin in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The puffin is a striking bird with a black back and white chest, black head with large pale cheeks and a tall, flattened, brightly coloured bill. Its almost comical appearance is heightened by red and black eye-markings and bright orange legs. The puffin's latin name fratercula arctica, meaning little brother, probably refers to its black and white body's resemblance to monastic gowns. Puffins come ashore in Scotland from late April until the middle of-August. July is the peak month to see adults with beak loads of fish coming in to feed chicks. Some of the best places to see them are the Treshnish Isles off Mull, Handa in west Sutherland, Hoy on the Orkney Islands, Noss and Hermaness on the Shetland Islands, the Isle of May in Fife and the Farne Islands just across the border in Northumberland, England.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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