A rescued otter cub named Mingo is receiving specialist care after being found in July 2025 in the flamingo habitat at Colchester Zoo, far from where he should have been. He is being raised with two other cubs at the UK Wild Otter Trust’s centre in Devon, UK. (Photo by UK Wild Otter Trust/Cover Images)

The Atlantic Puffin is definitely a curious-looking bird. The special coloring that this bird develops for the breeding season in the spring is very reminiscent of tropical birds. The bright colors of the beak and the markings around the eyes serve no particular advantage and have evolved as a result of sexual selection. However, Puffins don’t look that pretty all year round. They shed all these festive colors in partial moult after the breeding season is over. They lose the ornaments around their eyes, their face becomes darker, and their beak becomes very different. The natural habitat of these birds is the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.