Gentoo Penguin

 

Pygoscelis papua

An adult gentoo penguin makes as many as 450 dives a day foraging for food.

Photograph by Robert Heil, My Shot

Map

Gentoo Penguin Range

Fast Facts

Type:

Bird

Diet:

Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:

15 to 20 years

Size:

30 in (76 cm)

Weight:

12 lbs (5.5 kg)

Group name:

Colony

Protection status:

None

Did you know?

An adult gentoo penguin makes as many as 450 dives a day foraging for food.

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

With flamboyant red-orange beaks, white-feather caps, and peach-colored feet, gentoo penguins stand out against their drab, rock-strewn Antarctic habitat.

These charismatic waddlers, who populate the Antarctic Peninsula and numerous islands around the frozen continent, are the penguin world’s third largest members, reaching a height of 30 inches (76 centimeters) and a weight of 12 pounds (5.5 kilograms).

Gentoos are partial to ice-free areas, including coastal plains, sheltered valleys, and cliffs. They gather in colonies of breeding pairs that can number from a few dozen to many thousands.

Gentoo parents, which often form long-lasting bonds, are highly nurturing. At breeding time, both parents will work to build a circular nest of stones, grass, moss, and feathers. The mother then deposits two spherical, white eggs, which both parents take turns incubating for more than a month. Hatchlings remain in the nest for up to a month, and the parents alternate foraging and brooding duties.

Like all penguins, gentoos are awkward on land. But they’re pure grace underwater. They have streamlined bodies and strong, paddle-shaped flippers that propel them up to 22 miles an hour (36 kilometers an hour), faster than any other diving bird.

Adults spend the entire day hunting, usually close to shore, but occasionally ranging as far as 16 miles (26 kilometers) out. When pursuing prey, which includes fish, squid, and krill, they can remain below for up to seven minutes and dive as deep as 655 feet (200 meters).

Gentoo penguins are a favored menu item of the leopard seals, sea lions, and orcas that patrol the waters around their colonies. On land, adults have no natural predators other than humans, who harvest them for their oil and skin. Gentoo eggs and chicks, however, are vulnerable to birds of prey, like skuas and caracaras.

Gentoo numbers are increasing on the Antarctic Peninsula but have plummeted in some of their island enclaves, possibly due to local pollution or disrupted fisheries. They are protected by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and received near threatened status on the IUCN Red List in 2007.

link: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/gentoo-penguin/

Adélie Penguin

 

Pygoscelis adeliae

Wings spread, this Adélie penguin waddles through an Antarctic colony. Its black tail gives it a tuxedo-like appearance.

Photograph by George F. Mobley

Map

Adélie Penguin Range

Fast Facts

Type:

Bird

Diet:

Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:

Up to 20 years

Size:

27.5 in (70 cm)

Weight:

8.5 to 12 lbs (4 to 5.5 kg)

Group name:

Colony

Did you know?

Adult Adélie penguins have been observed stealing rocks from their neighbors’ nests.

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Adélie penguins live on the Antarctic continent and on many small, surrounding coastal islands. They spend the winter offshore in the seas surrounding the Antarctic pack ice.

Adélies feed on tiny aquatic creatures, such as shrimp-like krill, but also eat fish and squid. They have been known to dive as deep as 575 feet (175 meters) in search of such quarry, though they usually hunt in far shallower waters less than half that depth.

Like other penguins, Adélies are sleek and efficient swimmers. They may travel 185 miles round-trip (about 300 kilometers) to procure a meal.

During the spring breeding season (in October), they take to the rocky Antarctic coastline where they live in large communities called colonies. These groups can include thousands of birds.

Once on land, Adélies build nests and line them with small stones. Though they move with the famed "penguin waddle" they are capable walkers who can cover long overland distances. In early spring, before the vast sheets of ice break up, they may have to walk 31 miles (50 kilometers) from their onshore nests to reach open water.

Male Adélie penguins help their mates rear the young and, without close inspection, the two sexes are nearly indistinguishable. They take turns sitting on a pair of eggs to keep them warm and safe from predators. When food is short, only one of the two chicks may survive. After about three weeks, parents are able to leave the chicks alone, though the offspring gather in groups for safety. Young penguins begin to swim on their own in about nine weeks.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/adelie-penguin/

Chinstrap penguin

This chinstrap penguin was one of eight born this summer and raised at New York's Central Park Zoo. The zoo has been keeping a blog on the chicks' progress. (Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society)


link: http://abcnews.go.com

Baby penguins

Sydney Aquarium staff Martin Garwood and Libby Eyre feed baby penguins after their release, Jan. 18, 2012, in Sydney, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)


link: http://abcnews.go.com