PENGUINS

  • The emperor penguin of Antarctica holds its egg on its feet, tucked under a flap of feathers and skin to stop the cold from freezing the egg solid.
penguins
  • A penguin is any member of Sphenisciformes, an order of flightless marine birds containing one family, Spheniscidae.
  • Of all birds, penguins are the most fully adapted to water and extreme cold. Penguins are flightless and clumsy on land but are swift and agile swimmers.
  • Only the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri; see photograph) reach Antarctica itself; the Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) is confined to the tropics off South America.
  • At sea for weeks at a time, flocks of penguins feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. In turn, penguins are the prey of leopard seals and killer whales.

Go to contents

1