Editing Puffin (section)

=== Feeding ===
[[File:Puffin (Fratercula arctica) with lesser sand eels (Ammodytes tobianus).jpg|thumb|An [[Atlantic puffin]] holding [[lesser sand eel]]s on [[Skomer Island]]]]
Like many auks, puffins eat both [[fish]] and [[zooplankton]] but feed their chicks primarily with small marine fish several times a day. The puffins are distinct in their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fish at a time, crosswise in their bill, rather than regurgitating swallowed fish. This allows them to take longer [[foraging]] trips since they can come back with more food energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time. This behavior is made possible by the unique hinging mechanism of their beak, which allows the upper and lower biting edges to meet at any of a number of angles.

In 2019, animal experts observed puffins, in two separate geographic locations, using sticks to scratch themselves indicating that the seabirds have a basic ability to use tools.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/world/puffins-use-tools-study-scn-trnd/index.html |title=Two puffins scratched their itches with sticks -- the first evidence that seabirds can use tools |first=Scottie |last=Andrew |website=[[CNN]] |date=31 December 2019 |access-date=2020-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fayet |first1=Annette L. |last2=Hansen |first2=Erpur Snær |last3=Biro |first3=Dora |date=2019-12-24 |title=Evidence of tool use in a seabird |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |volume=117 |issue=3 |pages=1277–1279 |language=en |doi=10.1073/pnas.1918060117 |issn=0027-8424 |pmid=31889002 |pmc=6983420 |doi-access=free}}</ref>