Puffins walk with a waddle, display often, frequently bicker and repeatedly cock their head at an inquisitive angle. It is this sort of comical behaviour and a stunningly coloured bill that makes these the most popular of seabirds. "Clowns of the sea" is a name sometimes given to this bird, not in a derogatory sense but as a term of endearment. The huge bill is a digging tool, a weapon and an advertising billboard, and also functions as a handy comb when grooming.

Puffins are very gregarious during summer months and often gather in large "rafts" beneath their breeding colony, looking like a mass of tiny dots bobbing on the sea when viewed from a cliff top. This changes completely during winter months, when most birds disperse far out at sea and are rarely seen close to land.