Status and Trends of Cliff-breeding Species
Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

By far the most numerous seabird in Norway is the puffin (Fig. 1), which is the only species with a breeding population of more than 1 million breeding pairs (Tables 1, 2). In a 1964 census (Brun 1966) the total breeding population was put at 1.5 million pairs. The current figure of 1.25 million pairs includes several newly discovered colonies and some not censused in 1964; it is more accurate than the previous census for most of the 15 largest colonies which make up 99.9% of the total population. The puffin population is concentrated in Troms and Nordland (94%), with only about 3% in Finnmark.

Fig. 1. Distribution of the puffin (Fratercula arctica) in Norway. Numbers refer to localities listed in Table 2.

Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

The second most numerous seabird species in Norway is the kittiwake, which dominates in a number of the larger cliff colonies. Its distribution pattern differs from that of the puffin—the main occurrence of the kittiwake population (about 63%) is in Finnmark (Table 3).

SpeciesThousands of pairs[75]Increase (+) or decline (-)
Fratercula arctica1250-
Rissa tridactyla510+
Larus argentatus(260)[76]+
L. canus(150)[76]+
Uria aalge100-
L. marinus(40)[76]+
Phalacrocorax aristotelis33+
Alca torda30-
Cepphus grylle220
Sterna paradisaea(21)[76]-
S. hirundo(13)[76]-
Phalacrocorax carbo12+
L. fuscus9[76]+
Stercorarius parasiticus(8)0
L. ridibundus4[76]+
Fulmarus glacialis1.1+
U. lomvia1.0-
Hydrobates pelagicus??
Sula bassana0.76+
Oceanodroma leucorrhoa??

The annual production of kittiwakes shows enormous variation, both throughout the coastline and in different years; however, at our sample stations in north Norway, the mean production in 1974 (Table 4) was more stable and was near the minimum value necessary to maintain zero population growth.