It turns out Atlantic puffins have fluorescent beaks that glow a brilliant blue under ultraviolet light. Unfortunately, this feature is not used to see in the dark because the glow is only created by the reflection of UV light. It’s odd that the beaks glow under UV light because Auks, the family of birds that Arctic puffins belong to, are thought to have poor UV vision, according to Dunning. Atlantic puffins’ beaks fall off in the winter and grow back in before spring, in time for mating season. Dunning expects to publish the results of his research following his work with live puffins in the upcoming months.

Source: National Post April 09, 2018 20:37 UTC