A Field Guide to Penguins: The Flightless

Penguins the flightless

Penguins

Although all penguin species share many common features, they are also uniquely different from one another. They each occupy a vast variety of habitats and have different lifestyles and strategies that allow them to adapt to their surroundings. Such variations and characteristics make penguins a fascinating species to study as well as give each species their individuality.

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Adelie African Chinstrap Emperor Erect-crested Humboldt King Little Blue Rockhopper Yellow-Eyed

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Table of

Contents

Glossary References

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Adelie

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African

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Chinstrap

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Emperor

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Erect-crested

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Humboldt

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King

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Little Blue

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Rockhopper

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Yellow-eyed

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AdĂŠlie pygoscelis adeliae brush-tailed Behavior Diet Krill Antarctic Silverfish Squid

Life Expectancy 10 years

Threats

Global Warming Human Disturbance Leopard Seals Orcas Petrels Skuas

Adelie Penguins are migratory, highly sociable and aggressive.

They are known to hunt, travel in groups, and bully other penguins they share space with like the Emperor penguin. They are also the only penguins to show deviant behavior such as pedophilia, homosexuality, and necrophilia if not exposed to social interaction at a young age.

Reproduction Males collect stones to form a small nest.

They tend to become aggressive over nesting sites, and cheekily steal rocks from neighbours’ nests. Females lay two eggs which vary in size.

Only one egg will receive the attention if food is scarce. Both parents are devoted to taking care and defending their offspring as they take turns incubating and feeding the chicks.

Height 24-27 in

Weight

8.5-11.75 lb

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banded Behavior Diet

Anchovies Sardines

Life Expectancy 10-12 years

Threats

Food Shortage Hyenas Jackals Seals Sharks

Known as the “Jackass Penguin� for their donkey-like vocalization, African penguins are not aggressive. However, non-reproductive young individuals can be the most belligerent.

Temperamental penguins also perform pursuits where the attacker runs with its beak forward trying to catch the other penguin.

African spheniscus genus Height

Reproduction

Weight

Nest placement for African penguins tend to be in burrows under tree trunks and green areas with high vegetation.

They use their claws and flippers and beaks to fill their nests with leaves, branches, and grass.

African penguins are also fairly monogamous and sometimes couples breed up to twice a year.

To provide warmth, parents provide heat to the eggs through their brood patch.

24-27 in

5.25-9 lb

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Chinstrap pygoscelis antarctica Behavior

brush-tailed Diet

Antarctic Krill Lantern Fish

Life Expectancy 12 years

Threats

Brown Skuas Leopard Seals Sheathbills

Reproduction Chinstraps are devoted parents who generally keep the same mate from year-to-year. The male is responsible for the construction of the nest, which they collect rocks and bones for to build a circular nest. Both parents are usually responsible for incubation, but they do not feed chicks that are not their own. If they see a starving or abandoned one, they tend to ignore it. If there is a lot of stress, or scarce food, Chinstraps may also leave the nest and abandon their offspring.

Chinstraps share territory with other penguin species and occasionally have disputes over the ownership of the nests.

There are certain periods when they become more aggressive and often get into fights where their beaks become weapons, and the movements of the flippers show the level of irritability.

Height 26-28 in

Weight 7.5-11 lb

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large Diet

Fish Squid Krill

Life Expectancy 20 years

Threats

Antarctic Skuas Global Warming Leopard Seals Orcas Petrels

Behavior Emperors are very meek and only attack man if they come too close.

They are friendly and curious when it comes to other penguins. Emperors also perform bowing gestures to each other in their colony as an accepted form of recognition after a hunting exhibition or for mating. Since they are social penguins, they almost always travel and swim in groups.

Emperor aptenodytes genus Height

Reproduction

Weight

Emperors don’t build nests nor do they fight over territory. They rarely mate with the same partner of previous years.

One of the riskiest parts of their reproduction process is when the female has to transfer the egg to the male. Any wrong movement could cause the egg to fall and freeze and kill the offspring. After 140 days, the parents don’t return anymore, and the young penguins have to survive on their own.

44-48 in

55-84 lb

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Erect-crested eudyptes sclateri Behavior

crested Diet

Krill Fish Squid

Life Expectancy 10 years

Threats

Food Shortage Global Warming Marine Pollution

These penguins are very social and form groups to work together to catch prey and stay alert to potential dangers. While these penguins show affection to their partners and their hatchlings, individuals without any family relationship show aggression and defend their space using their beak and flippers.

Reproduction Males are devoted to courtship and build nests to impress their partner.

If their efforts are recognized, the female will agree to intercourse and lay two eggs.

The first egg is lost 98% of the time while the other grow to be a pale blue, light green and soon turn into a soft brown color. Two days after hatching, the mother leaves the male in charge of the offspring for three or four weeks, but she returns daily to regurgitate food for them.

Height 22-25 in

Weight 6.5-14 lb

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banded Diet

Sardines Anchovies Squid

Life Expectancy 10-12 years

Threats

Food Shortage Illegal Trade Marine Pollution Mining

Behavior Humboldt penguins are social penguins with peaceful behavior most of the time. They usually stay close to their colonies when diving into the ocean, but are a sedentary species.

Like African penguins, they emit a sound very similar to donkey braying and often show nervous behavior when they feel the inconvenience of an unwanted presence.

Humboldt spheniscus humboldticus Height

Reproduction

Weight

After mating, Humboldts stay together to take care of their offspring.

The time needed by the chicks to break the egg and hatch can last as long as three days.

Chicks stay in the nest for three or four weeks while parents take turns to feed them. There is a high rate of egg mortality for this species due to flooding of nests during ocean storms, accidental breakage, and predation.

24-26 in

7.75-13 lb

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King aptenodytes genus Behavior

large Diet

Fish Squid

Life Expectancy 20 years

Threats

Giant Petrels Leopard Seals Orcas Sheathbills Skuas

Reproduction During courtship, males use their best skills to attract female attention. This ritual lasts from hours to a few days.

Both are ready to mate when they shake their heads at the same time. They do not build nests, but the females lay a single egg which they transfer to the father for protection and warmth.

During this period, males become more aggressive and decisively protect their territory. After birth, parents take turns to protect it until it is big enough to defend itself.

King Penguins have no problem sharing territory with other species of penguins, but they don’t interact with them. They often fight with each other and this animosity takes energy and time from them.

Interestingly enough, they do perform small gestures such as bill rubbing, waddling gaits, and mimicking displays which exhibits a bit of appeasement, aggression, and mutual attraction in them at various times.

Height 31-35 in

Weight

26.5-35.25 lb

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little Diet

Small Fish Squid Krill Small Octopus

Life Expectancy 6-20 years

Threats

Gulls Food Shortage Marine Pollution Sheathbills Skuas

Behavior Known as the “Fairy Penguin,” these penguins perform most activity during the night with small groups of ten members or less. They are not migratory and stay close to their colonies most of the time. These penguins are very noisy, especially at night. This could be a natural defense mechanism that may compensate for their size.

Little Blue eudyptula minor Height

Reproduction

Weight

Little blue penguins are monogamous and are strongly attached to their partners with a few cases of “divorce.”

Two eggs are laid by the female and the male’s responsibility is for selecting the place for the nest. They prefer hidden places with little light as below tree trunks or inside small crevices on the rocks.

13-15 in

1.75-3 lb

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Rockhopper eudyptes genus crested Diet

Krill Fish Squid

Life Expectancy 10-15 years

Threats

Acidification Caracuas Commercial Fishing Global Warming Oil Spills Skuas

Reproduction Rockhoppers are very hands on. Both parents are in charge of both creating nests made of tussocks, peat, and pebbles and incubating the two laid eggs as well.

The second egg is usually 30% larger than the first, but they are not able to feed both chicks once they are born so they let the first and visibly smaller hatchling to die.

Behavior Rockhoppers are very nervous and temperamental. They tend to clash with other often over disputes in mating, reproduction, and dealing with predators.

Flippers, beaks, and aggressive sounds are typical in these conflicts. While they walk freely in populated areas of sea lions without showing any fear, their behavior while trying to hop into water is entirely different.

They usually jump into the sea from low-rise rocks in an awkward fashion.

Height 19-22 in

Weight 5-10 lb

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yellow-eyed Diet

Blue Cod Opal Fish Red Cod Shellfish

Life Expectancy 9-10 years

Threats

Avian Malaria Human Activities Global Warming

Behavior These penguins are not as social so they do not group in crowded colonies and prefer hiking on their own to dive into the sea. They are sedentary so they do not make migratory journeys.

They also do not show as much bonding as other penguins either because of their individual character.

Yellow-Eyed megadyptes antipodes Height

Reproduction

Weight

Males fight to claim the best places for nesting while some repeat the spots from previous years. Both partners collect materials to arrange their nests far from others. They prefer to hide their chicks in natural cavities to avoid any disturbance.

The parents take turns incubating two eggs and try to feed both so they can manage to survive.

This is fantastic news for an endangered species.

24-29 in

9.54-18.75 lb

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Glossary list of terms B

M

Belligerent hostile and aggressive

Migratory an animal that moves from one region or habitat to another, especially regularly according to the seasons

Breeding the mating and production of offspring by animals Brood Patch an area of skin without feathers that come into contact with the egg

C Cavities an empty space within a solid object

H Hatchling a young penguin that has recently emerged from its egg

I Incubate when a penguin sits on its eggs to keep them warm and bring them to hatching

Monogamous having only one mate at a time Mortality the state of being subject to death

P Peat a brown, soil-like material consisting of partly decomposed vegetable matter

S Scarce occuring in small quantities; rare Sedentary inhabiting the same locality throughout life; not migratory or nomadic

T Tussocks a small area of grass that is thicker or longer than the grass growing around it

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References facts & information Penguin's World Penguin Facts and Information penguins-world.com Animals, A-Z. A-Z Animals - Animal Facts, Pictures and Resources. a-z-animals.com Antarctica Wildlife TravelWild Expeditions travelwild.com/resources/antarctica-wildlife

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