Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds that are highly adapted to our lives in the water. Their distinct tuxedo-like appearance is called countershading, a form of camouflage in order to keep them safe in the water. Penguins do have wing-bones, though they are flipper-like and extremely worthy of swimming. Penguins are found almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, where they get their food underwater and raise their young on land.
Diet
Fan faves: Krill, fish and squid.
In general, penguins closer to the equator eat a lot more fish and penguins closer to Antarctica eat more squid and krill.
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Human population
The penguin species with the highest population is the Macaroni penguin with 10, 654, 000 pairs. The species with the lowest population is the endangered Galapagos penguin with between 6, 000-15, 000 individuals.
Range
Penguins can be found in each continent in the Southern Hemisphere from the tropical Galapagos Islands (the Galapagos penguin) located near South America to Antarctica (the emperor penguin).
Behavoir
Penguins can easily spend up to 75% of their lives in the water. They do all of their hunting in the h2o. Their prey can be found within 60 feet of the surface, so penguins do not have to swim in deep water. They catch prey in their beaks along with swallow them whole as they swim. Some species only leave the water regarding molting and breeding.
Penguins are social birds. Many species feed, frolic in the water and nest in groups. During the breeding season, some species form huge groups, or “rookeries”, that include thousands of penguins. Each penguin has a distinct phone, allowing individuals to find their mate and their chicks even in large groups.
Processing
Mating Season: Varies depending on the species, though most breed during spring in addition to summer.
Incubation: Varies from 1 month-66 days depending on the species.
Number of children: King and emperor penguins lay one egg. All other species of penguin lay down two eggs.
