THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA — The R/V Puffin sliced through uncharacteristically calm waters near Smith Island, a lopsided pancake of land often buffeted by wind and waves at the end of the strait.

Motion-activated cameras in July 2018 caught the moment a puffin picked up a stick from the ground and used it to scratch its chest. Experts guess the bird may have been trying to dislodge a tick.

One question keeps surfacing this month, as reports of a certain quirky and beloved seabird keep popping up along Florida's east coast: A puffin? The black and white seabirds with the bright orange ...

2 puffins scratched their itches with sticks -- the first evidence seabirds can use tools 2 puffins scratched their itches with sticks -- the first evidence seabirds can use tools 2 puffins scratched ...

Perhaps puffins aren't as bird-brained as previously believed.A team of animal experts observed two Atlantic puffins, more than 1,000 miles apart, spontaneously scratching themselves with sticks -- ...