Penguin | Description, Features, Habitat, & Facts
Penguins are one of the most loved animals in the world. Penguins are found in many places in the Southern Hemisphere. Most people think that penguins live in very cold climates like the icy continent of Antarctica, but they also live in more temperate regions like the Galapagos Islands, Australia and South Africa.
Penguins are very funny animals. They are birds that cannot fly, but love to swim! A typical penguin can spend at least half of its time swimming in water.
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Penguins Don’t Fly, They Swim
Penguins love to swim in the frozen sea. They can swim very quickly and can jump out of the water and dive deep in search of food. A layer of fat combined with a layer of air keeps the penguin warm in cold water and most weather.
Types of Penguins
There are several types of penguins, including Rockhopper, Macaroni, Adelie, Gentoo, Jugular, Emperor, King, and Little Penguin. You can distinguish these types of penguins by the unique markings on their heads. The Macaroni penguin is perhaps the most unusual because it has long orange feathers right on its head. The tallest of the penguins is the emperor penguin, over a meter tall.
Here is a brief description of some of the different types of penguins:
Adelie Penguin – This penguin is small but big. It makes him look a bit overweight. It lives in Antarctica in large colonies.
Emperor Penguins – This is the largest penguin species over 3 feet tall. They live in Antarctica.
King Penguin – The second largest penguin, the King lives in Antarctica as well as the Falkland Islands, Australia and New Zealand.
Galapagos Penguin – One of the smallest penguins at just 20 inches tall and weighing 5 pounds as an adult, it lives on the Galapagos Islands.
Macaroni Penguin – This penguin is famous for its long orange feathers on the top of its head. They grow to about 28 inches tall and weigh 11 pounds. They live in colder regions like Antarctica.
Rockhopper Penguins – Found in Antarctica, this crested penguin has different colored feathers on its head. It is small, usually weighing about 5 pounds at maturity.
What do they look like?
Penguins all have the same shape. On land, they can waddling on their hind legs or gliding across ice with their bellies. All penguins are predominantly black and white, providing excellent camouflage underwater. When swimming in the ocean, their white bellies make them difficult to see from below because they blend into the sky and sunlight above. Likewise, their black backs help camouflage them from above as they are difficult to see on dark water and ocean floors.
What do they eat?
Penguins mainly eat fish. The types of fish they eat can depend on where they live. They also eat krill, squid, crustaceans and octopus.
Penguin Parents
Some penguins mate for life, while others mate for a season. In the spring, they return to the same place every year and lay eggs. Sometimes there will be thousands of penguins in one place. Each parent penguin takes turns sitting on the egg or eggs to keep them warm.
They also stay close to eggs and newborn chicks to protect them from predators. While one parent looks after the chicks, the other parent takes the food and puts it in its mouth to feed the chicks. Chicks are usually easy to spot because they are brown and fluffy.
Interesting Facts About Penguins
They can drink salt water.
Emperor penguins can dive up to 1800 feet deep and stay underwater for more than 20 minutes.
Penguins can swim as fast as 16 mph.
Penguins have excellent eyesight and hearing.
Some penguins sleep standing up.