Penguin's World
Everything you want to know about penguins
Though they are birds, penguins may not be able to fly across the sky, but they can fly underwater as well as any fish. Instead of wings, these birds have flippers that can propel their streamlined bodies up to 15 miles per hour through the sea in pursuit of a meal. Penguins are a family of 17 to 19 species of birds that live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. Well-known types of penguins include:
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Emperor Penguin Family The Emperor Penguin is the largest penguin, in both body mass and height. They are approximately 120cm tall, about the height of a six year old child and weigh in at around 40 kg, though their weight does fluctuate dramatically throughout the year.The largest of all penguin species, distinguished by faint yellow auricular patches which become more orange near the ear. They were probably first sighted on the second voyage of Captain James Cook. Emperor Penguins have only one chick per season and are the only species to incubate their eggs during the Antarctic winter. Emperors do not build a nest, but incubate their egg on their feet to keep the egg warm.
The Emperor Penguin is an iconic and fascinating species that inhabits the harsh and frigid environment of the Antarctic ice and surrounding waters. With their large size, unique physiological adaptations, and cooperative behaviors, these flightless birds have evolved to survive in one of the most extreme and challenging environments on Earth. From their ability to dive deeper than any other bird to their remarkable parenting skills, Emperor Penguins continue to capture the imaginations of people all over the world. The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, emperor penguins trek between 50 and 120 km over the ice to breeding colonies which can contain up to several thousand individuals. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated for just over two months by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick in the colony. The emperor penguin breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C and wind speeds may reach 144 km/h. Emperors are uniquely adapted to survive these harsh conditions when temperatures can drop down to a bone chilling -50°C and with winds of up to 200km/hr. They have two layers of feathers, a good reserve of fat and proportionally smaller beaks and flippers than other penguins to prevent heat loss. Emperors also have feathers on their legs, so their ankles don't get too chilly. Even their feet are adapted to the icy conditions, containing special fats that prevent them from freezing and strong claws for gripping the ice.
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King Penguins Group The King Penguin is the second largest penguin, after the Emperor. Bright orange auricular patches that extend along the side of the neck, down to dark orange at the throat that fades to yellow on the upper breast are their distinctive physical characteristics. King Penguins make no nest, and instead lay a single egg which they hold on their feet for the entire incubation period of about 55 days. King penguins leave the colony where they were born when they have fledged fully and so are able to swim in the sea and catch their own food. They cannot go into the water until they have lost their fluffy brown juvenile down that is an excellent insulator in the air, but a very poor insulator when wet. They will not return again to breed until they are at least 3 years old, when they will usually return to the site where they were born and continue to do so through-out their life.
While most people tend to picture Antarctica when they think of penguins, king penguins actually live and breed on a number of islands slightly north of the southernmost continent. These are known as subantarctic islands. When they are on land, the birds prefer shores and valleys that are free of snow and ice, and can usually be found near the sea. They are epic hunters, scarfing down as many as 2,000 fish in a single day. Sometimes,finding prey requires diving to depths of more than 1,180 feet—that's about as deep as the Eiffel Tower is tall. To account for this, king penguins have excellent night vision, even though they do most of their hunting during the day.
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Macaroni Penguin Macaroni Penguins are the most abundant of all the penguins. They are members of the crested group of penguins. Macaroni penguins are migratory and are rarely found near land during the non-breeding season. Macaroni penguins are easy to recognize by their conspicuous yellow crest feathers that part in the middle at the top of the head. Bill is heavy and varies in color from red to orange to brown, with a pink gape. Legs and feet are pink, eyes are dark red. This species was named in the 18th century by English explorers for their yellow-orange tassels. The tassels resembled the feathers called “macaronis” on the hats worn by young fashionable men.
Macaroni penguins live in rocky, water-bound areas, on rocks and cliffs above the ocean. They range from the sub-Antarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. Macaroni penguins moult once a year, a process in which they replace all of their old feathers. They spend around two weeks accumulating fat before moulting because they do not feed during the moult, as they cannot enter the water to forage for food without feathers. The process typically takes three to four weeks, which they spend sitting ashore. Once finished, they go back to sea and return to their colonies to mate in the spring. Macaroni penguins usually begin breeding in late October, assembling in huge colonies and nesting on level to steep ground in mud or gravel. Two eggs are laid in early November and are incubated by both parents. After hatching, chicks are guarded by the male and fed by the female for up to 25 days and then gather in small crèches until they are ready to go to sea.
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Chinstrap Penguin The Chinstrap Penguin is easily distinguished by the conspicuous ear-to-ear black strap under the chin. Chinstraps are members of the brush-tailed group of penguins. Chinstrap Penguins are the smallest of the brush-tailed penguins but are known for their exceptionally feisty behavior. They are the most abundant penguin species in the Antarctic. After spending the winter north of the sea ice, chinstraps return in late October or early November to their nest sites, usually with the same breeding partners. They gather in massive breeding colonies on the ice-free coasts of the South Sandwich Islands, South Shetland Islands and Antarctic continent. The largest colony has around 1.2 million breeding pairs.
In order to pair, male chinstrap penguins beat their chests with their flippers and raise their heads to screech. This action is quite often echoed by other males, and it is thought to synchronize the breeding season across a colony. Male chinstraps arrive at the colony about five days before females. They then attempt to find the shallow bowls in the rocks that they or other couples used the year before, preparing their nests by adding rocks and even bones to rebuild it. Chinstrap penguins lay two eggs in a circular nest made from stones and share egg-sitting duties with their partners. After about 37 days, the chicks hatch and spend a few weeks in the nest before joining a crèche. The crèche helps chicks keep warm and makes it harder for predators to pick any one individual out. Chinstrap penguins face threats from predators like the leopard seal and other birds that steal their eggs or attack chicks, as well as volcanic activity.
If you are interested to learn more, access Penguins International.