![]() ![]() The fastest, the emperor penguin, can reach 9 mph (14 km/hr) when in a hurry but prefers a steady 7 mph. Their legs and feet, located far back on the body, contribute to the waddle on land, but underwater they act as streamlined rudders that minimize drag.Īt the water’s surface a penguin can at best paddle like a duck, but below the waves penguins cruise at speeds faster than Olympic swimmers. Adaptive wizards of the sea, their torpedo shaped bodies combined with powerful flippers enable penguins to swim to considerable depths and over great distances. A penguin’s awkward waddle may seem comical on land but that’s because they are made to swim. Some penguins, like the fiordland and rockhopper, have even been found with barnacles growing on their feathers! Much of what seems odd about penguins is due to the fact that they spend so much time in the water. ![]() Penguins are birds of the ocean, spending up to 75 percent of their lives in the water. Each penguin species is uniquely adapted to its home environment.Īnatomy, Diversity & Evolution Anatomy Extreme Swimmers and Divers The yellow-eyed penguins of Enderby Island off New Zealand burrow under the trees of the dwarf rata forests. The Humboldt penguin of Chile and Peru lives on the shores of the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world where temperatures can reach around 70☏ (21☌). In fact, penguins inhabit a very diverse array of environments. Although the various species of penguins look similar, the largest penguin, the emperor, stands at 4 foot, 5 inches (1.35 meters) and the smallest penguin, the fairy or little, stands at about a foot tall (.33 meters).Ĭontrary to popular belief, only five penguin species ever set foot on the icy Antarctic continent and only two, the Adélie and emperor, live there exclusively. Clumsy and comical on land, they become beautifully graceful swimmers below the ocean’s waves. Once finished, they go back to sea and return to their colonies to mate in the spring.Tuxedoed birds with endearing personalities, penguins are fascinating to young and old alike. The process typically takes 3-4 weeks, which they spend sitting ashore. They spend around two weeks accumulating fat before molting because they do not feed during the molt, as they cannot enter the water to forage for food without feathers. Macaroni penguins molt once a year, a process in which they replace all of their old feathers. During the daytime hours, they can dive at a depth of 20-80 meters (65-262 ft), remaining emerged for 2-3 minutes, whereas during the night, they dive no deeper than 20 meters (65 ft). They forage by day, often remaining in water from dawn to dusk. Being both diurnal and crepuscular, Macaroni penguins are active throughout the day. They communicate with each other through ritual behavior, accompanying their calls by moving, waving their heads and flippers, bowing, and preening. When on land, they are extremely noisy, giving out harsh braying sounds when at sea, they tend to bark. Macaroni penguins are highly social animals, gathering into large colonies, which generally consist of breeding pairs and contain up to 2.5 million individuals. ![]() The crest is fully developed in birds aged three to four years, a year or two before breeding age. Immature birds are distinguished by their smaller size, smaller, duller-brown bill, dark grey chin and throat, and absent or underdeveloped head plumes, often just a scattering of yellow feathers. Males also bear relatively larger bills, which average around 6.1 cm (2.4 in) compared to 5.4 cm (2.1 in) in females this feature has been used to tell the sexes apart. The males and females are similar in appearance males tend to be slightly larger. The iris is red and a patch of pinkish bare skin is found from the base of the bill to the eye. The flippers are blue-black on the upper surface with a white trailing edge and mainly white underneath with a black tip and leading edge. The most striking feature is the yellow crest that arises from a patch on the center of the forehead and extends horizontally backward to the nape. The black plumage has a bluish sheen when new and brownish when old. The head, chin, throat, and upper parts of the Macaroni penguin are black and sharply demarcated against the white under parts. ![]()
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