Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Pygoscelis
Scientific Name: Pygoscelis adeliae
Common Name: Adelie Penguin
Group: Bird
Number Of Species: 1
Location: Coastal Antarctica
Habitat: Antarctic land and ocean
Colour: Black with white chest
Skin Type: Feathers
Size (H): 40cm - 75cm (16in - 30in)
Wingspan: 35cm - 70cm (14in - 27.5in)
Weight: 3kg - 6kg (7lbs - 13lbs)
Top Speed: 72kph (45mph)
Diet: Carnivore
Prey: Krill, Fish, Squid
Predators: Leopard Seal, Skua Gull, Killer Whale
Lifestyle: Diurnal
Group Behaviour: Colony
Life Span: 10 - 20 years
Age Of Sexual Maturity: 2 - 3 years
Incubation Period: 2 months
Average Clutch Size: 2
Name Of Young: Chicks
Age Of Fledging: 90 days
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Estimated Population Size: 5 million
Biggest Threat: Rapid ice melt
Most Distinctive Feature: Small white circle around each eye
Fun Fact: Eats up to 2kg of food per day!

Adelie Penguin Classification and Evolution

The Adelie Penguin is the smallest and most widely distributed species of Penguin in the Southern Ocean and is one of only two species of Penguin found on the Antarctic mainland (the other being the much larger Emperor Penguin). The Adelie Penguin was named in 1840 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville who named the Penguin for his wife, Adelie. Adelie Penguins have adapted well to life in the Antarctic as these migratory Birds winter in the northern pack-ice before returning south to the Antarctic coast for the warmer summer months.

Adelie Penguin Anatomy and Appearance

The Adelie Penguin is one of the most easily identifiable Penguin species with a blue-black back and completely white chest and belly. The head and beak of the Adelie Penguin are both black, with a distinctive white ring around each eye. The strong, pink feet of the Adelie Penguin are tough and bumpy with nails that not only aid the Adelie Penguin in climbing the rocky cliffs to reach its nesting grounds, but also help to push them along when they are sliding (rowing) along the ice. Adelie Penguins also use their webbed feet along with their small flippers to propel them along when swimming in the cold waters.

Adelie Penguin Distribution and Habitat

The Adelie Penguin is one of the southern-most Birds in the world as it is found along the Antarctic coastline and on the islands close to it. During the winter months, the Adelie Penguins migrate north where they inhabit large platforms of ice and have better access to food. During the warmer summer months, the Adelie Penguins return south where they head for the coastal beaches in search of ice-free ground on the rocky slopes where they can build their nests. More than half a million Adelie Penguins have formed one of the largest animal colonies in the world on Ross Island, an island formed by the activities of four monstrous volcanoes in the Ross Sea.

Adelie Penguin Behaviour and Lifestyle

Like all species of Penguin, the Adelie Penguin is a highly sociable animal, gathering in large groups known as colonies, which often number thousands of Penguin individuals. Although Adelie Penguins are not known to be terribly territorial, it is not uncommon for adults to become aggressive over nesting sites, and have even been known to steal rocks from the nests of their neighbours. Adelie Penguins are also known to hunt in groups as it is thought to reduce the risk of being eaten by hungry predators. Adelie Penguins are constantly interacting with one another, with body language and specific eye movements thought to be the most common forms of communication.

Adelie Penguin Reproduction and Life Cycles

Adelie Penguins return to their breeding grounds during the Antarctic summer months of November and December. Their soft feet are well designed for walking on land making the trek to it's nesting ground much easier as the Penguin fasts during this time. Adelie Penguin pairs mate for life in large colonies, with females laying two eggs a couple of days apart into a nest built from rocks. Both the male and female take it in turns to incubate their eggs while the other goes off to feed, for up to 10 days at a time. The Adelie Penguin chicks have an egg-tooth which is a bump on the top of their beaks, which helps them to break out of the egg. Once hatched, the parents still take it in turns to look after their young while the other goes off to gather food. After about a month, the chicks congregate in groups called crèches and are able to fend for themselves at sea when they are between 2 and 3 months old.

Adelie Penguin Diet and Prey

Adelie Penguins are strong and capable swimmers, obtaining all of their food from the sea. These Penguins primarily feed on krill which are found throughout the Antarctic ocean, as well as Molluscs, Squid and small Fish. The record of fossilised eggshell accumulated in the Adelie Penguin colonies over the last 38,000 years reveals a sudden change from a Fish-based diet to Krill that started two hundred years ago. This is thought to be due to the decline of the Antarctic Fur Seal Seal in the late 1700s and Baleen Whales in the twentieth century. The reduction of competition from these predators has resulted in there being an abundance of Krill, which the Adelie Penguins are now able to exploit as an easier source of food.

Adelie Penguin Predators and Threats

Adult Adelie Penguins have no land based predators due to the uncompromising conditions that they inhabit. In the water however, the biggest threat to the Adelie Penguin is the Leopard Seal, which is one of the southern-most species of Seal and a dominant predator in the Southern Ocean. These Penguins have learnt to avoid these predators by swimming in large groups and not walking on thin ice. The Killer Whale Whale is the other main predator of the Adelie Penguin, although they normally hunt larger species of Penguin further north. South Polar Skuas are known to prey on the Adelie Penguin's eggs if left unguarded, along with chicks that have strayed from a group.

Adelie Penguin Interesting Facts and Features
Adelie Penguins inhabit one of the coldest environments on Earth and so have a thick layer of fat under their skin helping to keep them warm. Their feathers help to insulate them and provide a waterproof layer for extra protection. The Adelie Penguin is a highly efficient hunter and is able to eat up to 2kg of food per day, with a breeding colony thought to consume around 9,000 tonnes of food over 24 hours. The flippers of the Adelie Penguin make them fantastic at swimming and they can dive to depths of 175 meters in search of food. Adelie Penguins do not have teeth as such but instead have tooth-shaped barbs on their tongue and on the roof of their mouths. These barbs do not exist for chewing but instead assist the Penguin to swallow slippery prey.

Adelie Penguin Relationship with Humans
A visit to the Adelie Penguin colonies has long since been on the programme for tourists to the Antarctic, who marvel at the vast numbers of them nesting on the beaches and hunting in the surrounding waters. This has meant that Adelie Penguins are one of the most well-known of all Penguin species today. Early explorers however, also hunted the Penguins both for their meat and their eggs in order to survive in such uncompromising conditions.

Adelie Penguin Conservation Status and Life Today
Despite having been confined to living on coastal Antarctica, Adelie Penguins are one of the most common and widespread Penguins in the southern hemisphere. With more than 2.5 million breeding pairs found throughout southern Antarctica, the Adelie Penguin has adapted well to it's polar habitat. Scientists have also been known to use Adelie Penguin nesting patterns as indicators of climate change, noticing that they are able to nest on beaches that were previously covered in ice. The Adelie Penguin is listed as Least Concern.

Category › Adelie , Adelie Penguin , Penguin , Penguin facts , Penguin information , Penguin pictures

African Penguin

African Penguin Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Spheniscus
Scientific Name: Spheniscus demersus
Common Name: African Penguin
Other Name(s): Jackass Penguin
Group: Bird
Number Of Species: 1
Location: south-west African coast
Habitat: Rocky Ocean Islands
Colour: Black, White, Grey
Skin Type: Feathers
Size (H): 60cm - 68cm (24in - 27in)
Weight: 2kg - 5kg (4.4lbs - 11lbs)
Top Speed: 20kph (12.4mph)
Diet: Carnivore
Prey: Fish, Squid, Crustaceans
Predators: Sharks, Fur Seals, Gulls
Lifestyle: Diurnal
Group Behaviour: Colony
Water Type: Salt
Life Span: 10 - 15 years
Age Of Sexual Maturity: 3 - 4 years
Incubation Period: 40 days
Average Clutch Size: 2
Name Of Young: Chick
Age Of Fledging: 3 - 5 months
Conservation Status: Endangered
Estimated Population Size: 140,000
Biggest Threat: Habitat disruption
Most Distinctive Feature: Pink glands above their eyes
Fun Fact: The only penguin species in Africa!

African Penguin Classification and Evolution

The African Penguin is a small to medium sized Penguin species that is found along the coast of South Africa and on a number of it's surrounding islands. The African Penguin is thought to be most closely related to the Humboldt and Magellanic Penguins found in southern South America, and the Galapagos Penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the Equator. The African Penguin was named for the fact that it is the only species of Penguin that is found breeding on the African Coast, and it is believed to be one of the first Penguin species to be discovered by humans.

African Penguin Anatomy and Appearance

The African Penguin is a fairly distinctive species of penguin with clean black and white markings and a sharply pointed black beak. The African Penguin also has black feet and a number of dot-like markings flecked across it's white chest which are said to be as unique to the individual Penguin as a Human finger print is, along with a narrow black band. The male African Penguin is generally slightly larger than their female counterparts but both are fairly similar in appearance. One of the African Penguin's most distinctive features is that they have pink glands above their eyes which help them to cope with the temperate climates. The hotter the African Penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these glands so it may be cooled by the surrounding air, which in turn, makes these glands more pink.

African Penguin Distribution and Habitat

The African Penguin is found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in 27 colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, with the largest colony found on Dyer Island, near Kleinbaai. African Penguins are most densely distributed around the cold, nutrient rich waters of the Benguela Current where there is a plentiful supply of food. Although they spend much of their time at sea, African Penguins gather in nesting sites on rocky islands where they spend their days in sheltered burrows to avoid the hot sun. They are one of the only Penguin species to be found in non-freezing conditions and cope with this by burrowing, emerging at dusk and dawn, and using the pink glands above their eyes to cool the blood down.

African Penguin Behaviour and Lifestyle

Like many other Penguin species, African Penguins are incredibly sociable birds, with adults forming pair bonds that last for life (as long as 10 years). African Penguins can often be seen grooming one another, which is not only practical for cleaning purposes, but also for removing parasites and even just rearranging feathers, constantly strengthening the social bond between the pair. Their courtship displays are often very noisy as the male and female Penguin call to each other using a series of donkey-like sounds. African Penguins are also known to submit to a spot of bathing only a few meters from the shore, which they are thought to do quite regularly to both clean and to cool themselves down in the heat.

African Penguin Reproduction and Life Cycles

African Penguins begin to breed at the average age of four, when a male and female will pair up, and tend to breed together for the rest of their lives. The female African Penguin either digs herself a burrow or finds a dip beneath a rock or bush, in which she lays two eggs. The eggs are incubated by both parents for up to 40 days, when only one of the eggs will usually hatch. The African Penguin chicks are fed and kept warm by their parents constantly until they are a month old when they begin to be left on their own, forming crèches with other chicks for protection from predators. They tend to remain with their parents until they are between 3 and 5 months old, when they will leave the colony (this is dependant though on the supply and quality of food in the area). The chicks return to the colony after a couple of years to moult into their adult plumage. African Penguins generally live for between 10 and 15 years.

African Penguin Diet and Prey

The African Penguin is a carnivorous animal that, like all other Penguin species, survives on a diet that is only comprised of marine organisms. Shoaling fish including Anchovies, Sardines, Horse Mackerel and Round Herrings make up the bulk of the African Penguin's diet, along with the occasional Squid or Crustacean when normal food is in short supply. The streamlined body of the African Penguin allows it to move through the water like a rocket, capable of reaching a top speed of around 20 kph when hunting for food. African Penguins catch their prey by diving into the ocean depths for around 2 minutes at a time. Although they normally go to depths of around 30 meters, it is not uncommon for them to be found hunting more than 100 meters beneath the water's surface.

African Penguin Predators and Threats
The African Penguin's smaller size means that it has many predators both in the water and also on dry land. Their marine predators are primarily Sharks and Cape Fur Seals, but the biggest threat to them on land is not just to the adult Penguins, but more the vulnerable eggs and chicks. Kelp Gulls and Scared Ibises prey on them from the air and Mongooses, Snakes, and Leopards have been observed hunting them on ground. The African Penguin has also been severely affected by Human activity in their native regions, with populations thought to have taken a drastic decline, mainly due to the exploitation of their eggs for food when they were first discovered. They are also severely affected by the disruption of their natural habitats.

African Penguin Interesting Facts and Features

Penguins have more feathers than any other bird, which act as a waterproof layer keeping their skin dry. African Penguins moult once a year which they do back in their colonies. The whole process lasts for about 20 days, in which time, the African Penguins cannot swim or eat, and can lose almost half of their body weight. African Penguins are known to spend long periods of time fishing out at sea, and depending on the area, can travel between 30 and 110 km in one trip. However, those African Penguins who have chicks to feed, will rarely go that far, catching food closer to the shore, and as quickly as possible. The African Penguin is also known as the Jackass penguin, due to the donkey-like call that they make during their courtship rituals.

African Penguin Relationship with Humans

It is widely believed that African Penguins were one of the first Penguin species to come into contact with Humans, due to the fact that they are found on the temperate South African coast rather than in the heart of Antarctica. This however, does not seem to have worked to the bird's advantage as their eggs were stolen for food (slowing the rate of reproduction), and the guano used in nest building was harvested for fertiliser. Today, other threats face the African Penguin including competition for food from commercial fishing and oil pollution in the water. Only a small handful of nesting sites can be accessed by tourists, but the Penguin's nervous nature of people means that these areas have to be strictly monitored.

African Penguin Conservation Status and Life Today

Today, the African Penguin is considered to be a vulnerable animal and has been listed as being Endangered by the IUCN. It is thought that today's African Penguin population of around 70,000 breeding pairs, is less than 10% of the population that existed in 1900. By the 1950s, the African Penguin population had halved, and it had then halved again by 1980. There is an approximate 2% decline in the African Penguin population every year, mainly due to the Human consumption of their eggs, competition for food and habitat disruption.

Category › African Penguin , African Penguin facts , Penguin , Penguin facts , Penguin information , Penguin pictures

Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Aptenodytes
Scientific Name: Aptenodytes forsteri
Common Name: Emperor Penguin
Group: Bird
Number Of Species: 1
Location: Antarctica
Habitat: Compact sea-ice and ocean
Colour: Black, White, Yellow, Orange
Skin Type: Feathers
Size (H): 100cm - 120cm (39in - 47in)
Wingspan: 76cm - 89cm (30in - 35in)
Weight: 22kg - 45kg (49lbs - 99lbs)
Top Speed: 24kph (15mph)
Diet: Carnivore
Prey: Fish, Krill, Squid
Predators: Southern Giant Petrol, Leopard Seal, Killer Whale
Lifestyle: Diurnal
Group Behaviour: Colony
Life Span: 15 - 50 years
Age Of Sexual Maturity: 3 - 8 years
Incubation Period: 60 - 70 days
Average Clutch Size: 1
Name Of Young: Chick
Age Of Fledging: 5 - 6 months
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Estimated Population Size: 200,000 breeding pairs
Biggest Threat: Global warming
Most Distinctive Feature: Bright yellow feathers on neck and ears
Fun Fact: The world\'s largest species of penguin!

Emperor Penguin Classification and Evolution


The Emperor Penguin is found on and around the Antarctic continent and is not just the largest species of penguin in the world but also one of the most unique. Instead of breeding in the warmer summer months like other penguin species, Emperor Penguins lay and incubate their eggs during the coldest time of year in the coldest place on Earth. 
Emperor Penguins are flightless birds that have small, stiff wings that help them to fly through the water, rather than through the air. Despite having been first recorded by Captain Cook on his second voyage in the late 1700s, the first Emperor Penguin colony wasn't discovered until 1902 with their extreme southerly-dwelling nature leading to new colonies still being recorded as late as 1986. Due to the fact that Emperor Penguins breed on the ice, they are thought to be one of the only species of bird that could spend their whole life without actually walking on land.

Emperor Penguin Anatomy and Appearance
The Emperor Penguin is a large bird that stands up to more than a meter in height. Their feathers vary in colour from black on the back to white on the front with a yellow patch towards the neck. The black and white colouration is thought to be particularly important for camouflaging the Emperor Penguin from predators whilst in the ocean.
 They also have yellow ear-spots and a orange-yellow strip that runs the length of their black beak, which is relatively small in size to retain heat. Their black, clawed feet are also webbed to help them when swimming but provide little assistance when walking about on land (instead Emperor Penguins slide along on their belly). In order to keep themselves warm in such hostile conditions, they have a triple layer of dense, oily and waterproof feathers and a thick layer of blubber under their skin. They are also well adapted for swimming with their streamlined bodies gliding through the water, propelled by their small, rigid wings.

Emperor Penguin Distribution and Habitat

Emperor Penguins are found in the deep south, inhabiting the compacted ice on the Antarctic continent and along the coast. Coming onto land to breed, they can travel distances of up to 200km across the ice to reach their breeding colony before returning to the open ocean to feed. Unlike a number of other penguin species that may visit the Antarctic continent from time to time, the Emperor Penguin does not migrate north and instead spends the whole year deep in the Southern Ocean. In fact, only two of the forty known Emperor Penguin colonies breed on ice that is not attached to the Antarctic mainland. Emperor Penguins however, are being increasingly affected by habitat loss in the form of global warming that not just reduces the amount of pack ice surrounding the continent but also causes it to melt earlier in the year.

Emperor Penguin Behaviour and Lifestyle

Emperor Penguins are incredibly sociable birds that live together in colonies that can contain thousands of individuals. Once having found a mate, Emperor Penguins remain faithful to one another for life and use vocal calls to find each other again when they return to the breeding site. They are excellent swimmers that are also known to leap out of the water when they are travelling at speed in the same way as dolphins. Known as "porpoising" it allows the Emperor Penguin to breathe but without having to slow down. They are also known to dive to depths of more than 500 meters making them the deepest diving birds in the world, where they are able to hold there breath for up to 20 minutes at a time. Usually travelling at speeds of between 5 and 10 kph but capable of swimming at 24 kph, Emperor Penguins can travel as far as 1,000km on a foraging trip.

Emperor Penguin Reproduction and Life Cycles
Emperor Penguins breed every year in the winter months which are the coldest, darkest and most hostile months of the Antarctic year. They begin arriving in their breeding colonies that can be many miles from the ocean between March and April and once having found their mate, the females lay a single egg from May to June. The egg is quickly transferred to the male who rests it on his feet to stop it from touching the frozen ground, and covers it with a warm brood pouch that keeps the egg warm. Female Emperor Penguins then leave for the open ocean where they forage for food for two whole months, leaving the males to look after the eggs during the winter months. Temperatures can reach -60 degrees centigrade and with winds of up to 100 mph the male Emperor Penguins huddle together for warmth, alternating between the 

outskirts and the middle to ensure all members of the colony get to keep warm. The eggs hatch after 70 days in the spring which coincides with the return of the females who feed the young and keep them warm using their brood pouch on their tummies, while the males head off to find food. Once having eaten, the males return to help care for the chick which grows rapidly and has developed it's adult feathers by December when the ice is melting and the ocean is then closer to the breeding grounds.

Emperor Penguin Diet and Prey

The Emperor Penguin is a carnivorous animal that only hunts and eats animals in the surrounding water in order to survive. Fish and krill make up the bulk of their diet along with squid and crustaceans. Like other penguin species, Emperor Penguins have a rough and spiky tongue which helps them when trying to eat slippery fish. Emperor Penguin chicks are not big enough or strong enough to hunt until the ice melts in the summer and so rely on their parents to collect food for them. Males and females take it in turns to leave the chick and head out to the sea to hunt for food before returning and feeding the fast-growing chick by regurgitating a fishy paste from their stomach in the chick's mouth. Whilst incubating their egg throughout the winter, male Emperor Penguins eat nothing at all and can lose up to half of their body weight by the time the chick has hatched two months later.

Emperor Penguin Predators and Threats

Emperor Penguins are preyed upon by a number of large, marine carnivores but their exact predators do vary between geographic locations. However, despite inhabiting the most southerly and hostile land mass on the planet, Emperor Penguin chicks are still vulnerable and are preyed upon by the enormous Southern Giant Petrel which is an animal that is thought to be responsible for more than 30% of deaths in Emperor Penguin chicks. Adult Emperor Penguins are preyed upon by Leopard Seals and Killer Whales, Whales, both of which also take young Emperor Penguins that are only just learning how to swim. Emperor Penguins are also threatened by the decreasing amount of pack ice which is caused by global warming and are sometimes also caught in the nets of large, commercial fishing vessels.

Emperor Penguin Interesting Facts and Features

When arriving back at their breeding grounds after having been feeding in the ocean for the past few months, male and female partners find one another using different vocal calls. It is thought that the frequency differs between them to make it easier for them to locate one another. The same also applies with parents and chicks when reuniting after a fishing trip. Despite the fact that Emperor Penguin chicks grow remarkably quickly, they are not able to accompany their parents into the water until between November and December and instead gather together with other chicks in small groups to keep warm. They are not just faced with a long walk out to the open ocean until the ice melts further, but they must also wait until they have developed their adult feathers which are dense and oily to keep the young Emperor Penguin both warm and waterproof.

Emperor Penguin Relationship with Humans

Ever since explorers first started really venturing into the very south of the Southern Ocean and onto the Antarctic continent, they have been fascinated by penguins. In the early 20th century, scientists widely believed that Emperor Penguins were some kind of evolutionary "missing link" and although this theory has dissolved somewhat since then, they are still thought to have evolved from some of the first and most primitive bird species on the planet. Emperor Penguins have been increasingly studied as improved technology has enabled more and more people to visit them in their natural habitat. They have also been hunted and eaten by people in the past.

Emperor Penguin Conservation Status and Life Today
Today, the Emperor Penguin is listed by the IUCN as a species that is of Least Concern from becoming extinct in the wild in the near future. In fact, their southerly-dwelling nature may mean that they are the least vulnerable of the eighteen different species of penguin. There are thought to be around 200,000 breeding pairs of Emperor Penguin in the Southern Ocean and although populations remain healthy and relatively stable, they are being increasingly affected by the rapidly melting ice and the higher levels of human activity around Antarctica.

Category › Emperor Penguin , Emperor Penguin facts , Emperor Penguin information , Penguin , Penguin facts , Penguin information , Penguin pictures