T’S the beak, of course. There’s no other beak like it. The bright colours, the wedgy proportions and the bold profile command the eye. Yet, behind this head-turning display lies a unique working tool. Beaks usually open like the blades of scissors or shears. Not so the puffin’s: it is hinged to allow the top and bottom to operate in parallel and accommodate a neat rack of fishy fare. Its edges have inward serrations for a firm grip on the slippery catch and a rough-ended tongue, plus spines on the upper palate, complete a design that permits the adult bird to return from miles out to sea to feed its land-bound young without spillage. The largest rack recorded in this country is 61 sand eels and a rockling. One of the folk nicknames for the puffin
