Stephen Harper, the Conservative leader at the time, apologized for what he considered a 'tasteless' and 'inappropriate' ad. The Conservatives tried to capitalize on the comments in a short-lived campaign ad early in the 2008 election campaign: an Internet ad that showed a puffin pooping on the shoulder of then-Liberal leader Stephane Dion. 'This seems to me a symbol for what our party should be.' They hide their excrement.ΓÇª They flap their wings very hard and they work like hell,' Ignatieff said at the time. John's that year, suggested aloud that it become the party's official symbol. In 2007, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who apparently became enamoured of the 'noble' puffin during a caucus retreat in St. It's not the first time the federal Liberals have run afoul of the industrious little creature. 'It was someone in her office who obviously needs to renew her glasses prescription,' said Marie-Pascale Desrosiers. 'Oops! Let's try this again,' read the tweet.Ī spokeswoman in McKenna's office blamed the mixup on a squinty-eyed staffer. Within about half an hour of the post, McKenna - or someone in her office - caught the error and sent a new tweet, this time with a short video of actual penguins attached. Penguins, on the other hand, live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with the exception of the Galapagos penguin and those held captive in zoos. Puffins, with their red and black beaks and orange feet and legs, are found primarily in the north, notably Newfoundland and Labrador.

'You know puffins aren't penguins, right?' came one response. Problem is, those weren't penguins in the video, but puffins - the squat, distinctive-looking seabirds that make their homes on islands and coastlines in the north Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Penguins are much more adept divers-especially the emperor penguin, which can reach depths of 1,850 feet (deeper than any other bird!) and stay underwater for up to 20 minutes.OTTAWA - What, some Canadians are wondering, has the Liberal government's environment minister been puffin?Ĭatherine McKenna was trying to mark World Penguin Day with a simple tweet accompanied by a cute video of penguins frolicking in the wild. Puffins can dive for up to a minute, but most often for about 20 to 30 seconds, reaching depths of up to 300 feet. Diving AbilityĪlthough both birds can dive, penguins take the cake here. African penguins, for example, can swim up to 12 miles per hour. Since penguins can't fly, they've evolved to use their wings as flippers that propel them through the water at high speeds. The Atlantic puffin is a species of seabird in the order Charadriiformes.It is in the auk family, Alcidae, which includes the guillemots, typical auks, murrelets, auklets, puffins, and the razorbill. It's a well-known fact that penguins can't fly-but puffins can, and at an impressive speed! They can beat their wings up to 400 times a minute to fly through the air at abut 50 miles per hour. Common puffins ( Fratercula artica) are 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in.) tall. Yet, puffins differ in having broader and very colorful bills and, unlike penguins, are able to fly. Smallest species of penguin is two times heavier than the smallest species of puffin. Like penguins, puffins have a vertical posture, wide webbed feet and are strongly counter-shaded with a black dorsal side and a white ventral side. This is another key difference between puffins and penguins: although a few species of penguins have orange bills, the majority have grey or black bills. Puffin can reach 10 to 15 inches in height and 1.1 to 1.76 pounds of weight, while penguin can reach 10 inches to 4 feet in height and 2.2 to more than 77 pounds of weight, depending on the species. BeaksĪ puffin's most eye-catching physical characteristic is undoubtedly its bright orange beak, which is most vibrant during breeding season. Puffins range in size from about 8 inches tall-the horned and Atlantic puffins-to 15 inches in height.

The smallest species of penguin, the fairy blue, measures about 12 inches tall and the tallest species, the emperor penguin, can grow to be 4 feet tall. Generally speaking, penguins are larger than puffins.

Puffin penguin