I walk by a house with a penguin as an outdoor inflatable Christmas decoration. I am not sure when penguins started to be associated with Christmas, but I guess since some are from an Antarctic climate, they are connected to the North Pole and Santa. I wonder what Santa’s sleigh would have looked like with penguins pulling it instead of reindeer? But, I digress. I have seen penguins in indoor exhibits at zoos and Sea World and found them adorable and very entertaining. In 2000, when I took a trip Down Under, I went to Phillip Island just off the coast of Melbourne and saw fairy penguins. They stand at just over one foot tall and are the cutest penguins anywhere — especially when you see them en masse. To see their penguin parade, watch the video below.
To learn about more penguins, read on.
According to Wikipedia, penguins — order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae — are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species — the Galápagos penguin — found north of the equator. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch while swimming underwater. They spend roughly half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea.
Although almost all penguin species are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, but one species — the Galápagos penguin — lives near the equator.
The largest living species is the emperor penguin: on average, adults are about 3 feet 7 inches tall and weigh 77 lbs. The smallest penguin species is the little blue penguin, also known as the fairy penguin, which stands around 13 inches tall and weighs 2.2 lbs. Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found in temperate or even tropical climates. Some prehistoric species attained enormous sizes, becoming as tall or as heavy as an adult human. These were not restricted to Antarctic regions; on the contrary, subantarctic regions harbored high diversity, and at least one giant penguin occurred in a region around 2,000 km south of the equator 35 million years ago, in a climate decidedly warmer than today.
Etymology
The word “penguin” first appears in the 16th century as a synonym for great auk, which became extinct in the mid-19th century. When European explorers discovered what are today known as penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, they noticed their similar appearance to the great auk of the Northern Hemisphere, and named them after this bird, although they are not closely related.
The etymology of the word “penguin” is still debated. The English word is not apparently of French, Breton or Spanish origin — the latter two are attributed to the French word pingouin “auk” — but first appears in English or Dutch.
Some dictionaries suggest a derivation from Welsh pen “head” and gwyn "white," including the Oxford English Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, the Century Dictionary and Merriam-Webster, on the basis that the name was originally applied to the great auk, either because it was found on White Head Island Welsh: Pen Gwyn) in Newfoundland or because it had white circles around its eyes, though the head was black.
An alternative etymology links the word to Latin pinguis, which means "fat" or "oil." Support for this etymology can be found in the alternative Germanic word for penguin, Fettgans or "fat-goose" and the related Dutch word vetgans.
Adult male penguins are called cocks, females hens; a group of penguins on land is a waddle and a similar group in the water is a raft.
Genus Aptenodytes – great penguins
The genus Aptnodytes includes king penguins and emperor penguins.
The king penguin is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli; patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic and halli in the South Indian Ocean — at the Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Island, Prince Edward Islands and Heard Island and McDonald Islands — and at Macquarie Island.
King penguins mainly eat lanternfish, squid and krill. On foraging trips king penguins repeatedly dive to over 300 feet and have been recorded at depths greater than 1,000 feet. Predators of the king penguin include giant petrels, skuas, the snowy sheathbill, the leopard seal and the orca.
King penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia and other temperate islands of the region.
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 39 inches in length and weighing from 49 to 99 lbs. Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Its diet consists primarily of fish, but also includes crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid. While hunting, the species can remain submerged around 20 minutes, diving to a depth of 1,755 feet. It has several adaptations to facilitate this, including an unusually structured haemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions.
The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, emperor penguins trek 31–75 miles over the ice to breeding colonies which can contain up to several thousand individuals. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated for just over two months by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick in the colony. The lifespan is typically 20 years in the wild, although observations suggest that some individuals may live to 50 years of age.
Genus Pygoscelis – brush-tailed penguins
The genus Pygoscelis includes Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins.
The Adélie penguin is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is its only habitat. It is the most widely spread penguin species, as well as the most southerly distributed of all penguins, along with the emperor penguin. It is named after Adélie Land, in turn named for Adèle Dumont d’Urville, the wife of French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, who first discovered this penguin in 1840. Adélie penguins obtain their food by both predation and foraging, with a diet of mainly krill and fish.
The chinstrap penguin is a species of penguin that inhabits a variety of islands and shores in the Southern Pacific and the Antarctic Oceans. Its name stems from the narrow black band under its head, which makes it appear as if it were wearing a black helmet, making it easy to identify. Other common names include ringed penguin, bearded penguin and stonecracker penguin, due to its loud, harsh call.
The gentoo penguin is a penguin species — or possibly a species complex — in the genus Pygoscelis, most closely related to the Adélie penguin and the chinstrap penguin. The earliest scientific description was made in 1781 by Johann Reinhold Forster with a type locality in the Falkland Islands. They call in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud trumpeting which the bird emits with its head thrown back.
Genus Eudyptula – little penguins
The genus Eudyptula includes little blue penguins, Australian little penguins and white-flippered penguins.
The little penguin is the smallest species of penguin. It grows to an average of 13 inches in height and 17 inches in length, though specific measurements vary by subspecies. It is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile. In Australia, they are often called fairy penguins because of their small size. In New Zealand, they are more commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage; they are also known by their Māori name: kororā.
The white-flippered penguin is a small penguin about 12 inches tall and weighing 3.3 lbs. It gains its name from the white markings on its flippers, unique to thesibspecies. It nests only on Banks Peninsula and Motunau Island, near Christchurch, New Zealand, with only around 3,750 breeding pairs.
Genus Spheniscus – banded penguins
The genus Spheniscus includes Magellanic, Humboldt, Galápagos and African penguins.
The Magellanic penguin is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay where they are occasionally seen as far north as Espirito Santo. It is the most numerous of the Spheniscus penguins. Its nearest relatives are the African, Humboldt and Galápagos peguins. The Magellanic penguin was named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who spotted the birds in 1520. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Humboldt penguin is a South American penguin living mainly in the Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve in the north of Chile, although its habitat comprises most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African, Magellanic and Galápagos penguins. The Humboldt penguin and the cold water current it swims in both are named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. The species is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with no population recovery plan in place. The current population is composed of 32,000 mature individuals and is going down. It is a migrant species.
Humboldt penguins are medium-sized penguins, growing to 22–28 inches long and a weight of 8-13 lbs. They have a black head with a white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with a black breast-band that extends down the flanks to the thigh. They have a fleshy-pink base to the bill. Juveniles have dark heads and no breast-band. They have spines on their tongue which they use to hold their prey.
Humboldt penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes i.e., shallow nests or caves. In South America the Humboldt penguin is found only along the Pacific coast, and the range of the Humboldt penguin overlaps that of the Magellanic penguin on the central Chilean coast. It is vagrant in Ecuador and Colombia. The Humboldt penguin has been known to live in mixed species colonies with the Magellanic penguin in at least two different locations at the south of Chile.
The Humboldt penguin has become a focus of ecotourism over the last decades.
The Galápagos penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. It is the only penguin found north of the equator. Most inhabit Fernandina Island and the west coast of Isabela Island. The cool waters of the Humboldt and Cromwell Currents allow it to survive despite the tropical latitude. The Galápagos penguin is one of the banded penguins, the other species of which live mostly on the coasts of Africa and mainland South America. It is one of the smallest species of penguins in the world. Because of their warm environment, Galápagos penguins have developed techniques to stay cool. The feathers on their back, flippers and head are black, and they have a white belly and a stripe looping from their eyes down to their neck and chin. Each penguin keeps only one mate and breeds year-round. Their nests are typically in caves and crevices as protection against predators and the harsh environment. The Galápagos penguin has a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, but due to predation, life expectancy in the wild could be significantly reduced.
The African penguin — also known as the Cape penguin or South African penguin — is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 4.9–7.7 lbs and are 24–28 inches tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The pink glands above their eyes help them with thermoregulation. To cope with changing temperatures, blood is sent to the glands to be cooled by the air.
The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, African penguins are declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats and is classified as endangered. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin, due to the species' loud, donkey-like bray, although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound. They can be found in South Africa, Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Mozambique.
Genus Megadyptes
The genus Megadyptes includes the yellow-eyed penguin and the extinct Waitaha penguin.
The yellow-eyed penguin — known also as hoiho or tarakaka — is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand.
Previously thought closely related to the little penguin, molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Like most other penguins, it is mainly a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish.
The species breeds along the eastern and southeastern coastlines of the South Island of New Zealand, as well as Stewart Island, Auckland Islands and Campbell Islands. Colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular tourist venue, where visitors may closely observe penguins from hides, trenches or tunnels. A bird hide —or hide, British usage; known as a blind or bird blind in North America — is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of birdwatchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.
On the New Zealand mainland, the species has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 years. On the Otago Peninsula, numbers have dropped by 75% since the mid-1990s and population trends indicate the possibility of local extinction in the next 20 to 40 years. While the effect of rising ocean temperatures is still being studied, an infectious outbreak in the mid-2000s played a large role in the drop. Human activities at sea such as fisheries and pollution may have an equal if not greater influence on the species' downward trend.
Genus Eudyptes – crested penguins
The genus Eudyptes includes Fiordland, Snares, erect-crested, southern rockhopper, eastern rockhopper, northern rockhopper, royal, macaroni and extinct Chatham penguins.
The Fiordland penguin — also known as the Fiordland crested penguin is a crested penguin species endemic to New Zealand. It currently breeds along the southwestern coasts of New Zealand’s South Island as well as on Stewart Island/Rakiura and its outlying islands. Because it originally ranged beyond Fiordland, it is sometimes referred to as the New Zealand crested penguin.
The Snares penguin — also known as the Snares crested penguin and the Snares Islands penguin — is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on The Snares, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South Island. This is a medium-small, yellow-crested penguin, at a size of 19.5–27.5 inches and a weight of 5.5–8.8 lbs. It has dark blue-black upperparts and white underparts. It has a bright yellow eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye to form a drooping, bushy crest. It has bare pink skin at the base of its large red-brown bill.
This penguin nests in small (10 nests) to large (1,200 nests) colonies under forest cover or the open. The main colonies are located on North East Island; other colonies are established on Broughton Island as well as the rocky Western Chain.
The Snares penguin's main prey is krill, supplemented by squid and small fish. The species is currently rated as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as its breeding range is restricted to one small island group. The current population is estimated at around 25,000 breeding pairs.
The erect-crested penguin is a penguin endemic to the New Zealand region and only breeds on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. It has black upper parts, white underparts and a yellow eye stripe and crest. It spends the winter at sea and little is known about its biology and breeding habits. Populations are believed to have declined during the last few decades of the 20th century, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being "endangered."
The southern rockhopper penguin group are two subspecies of rockhopper penguin that together are sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America.
The eastern rockhopper penguin is a crested penguin with yellow crest feathers. It is a subspecies of the southern rockhopper penguin found in subantarctic regions and the Indian Ocean. It is one of the smallest crested penguins and has distinctive pink margins around its bill.
Recent studies show the northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin or Moseley's penguin distinct from the southern rockhopper penguin.
A study published in 2009 showed that the population of the northern rockhopper had declined by 90% since the 1950s. For this reason, the northern rockhopper penguin is classified as endangered.
The royal penguin is a subspecies of penguin which can be found on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and adjacent islands. It is a localized variant of the Macaroni penguin. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the royal penguin as near threatened. The scientific name Eudyptes schlegeli commemorates the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel.
The macaroni penguin is a species of penguin found from the subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguins, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. It bears a distinctive yellow crest, and the face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. Adults weigh on average 12 lbs and are 28 inches in length. The male and female are similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger and stronger with a relatively larger bill. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine lifestyle.
Its diet consists of a variety of crustaceans, mainly krill, as well as small fish and cephalopods; the species consumes more marine life annually than any other species of seabird. These birds molt once a year, spending about three to four weeks ashore, before returning to the sea. Numbering up to 100,000 individuals, the breeding colonies of the macaroni penguin are among the largest and densest of all penguin species. After spending the summer breeding, penguins disperse into the oceans for six months; a 2009 study found that macaroni penguins from Kerguelen traveled over 6,200 miles in the central Indian Ocean. With about 18 million individuals, the macaroni penguin is the most numerous penguin species. Widespread declines in populations have been recorded since the mid-1970s and their conservation status is classified as vulnerable.
Evolution
The evolutionary history of penguins is well-researched and represents a showcase of evolutionary biogeography. Although penguin bones of any one species vary much in size and few good specimens are known, the alpha taxonomy of many prehistoric forms still leaves much to be desired. Some seminal articles about penguin prehistory have been published since 2005; the evolution of the living genera can be considered resolved by now.
The basal penguins lived around the time of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event somewhere in the general area of (southern) New Zealand and Byrd Land, Antarctica. Due to plate tectonics, these areas were at that time less than 930 miles apart rather than the 2,500 miles of today. The most recent common ancestor of penguins and their sister clade can be roughly dated to the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary, around 70–68 million years ago. What can be said as certainly as possible in the absence of direct i.e., fossil evidence is that by the end of the Cretaceous period, the penguin lineage must have been evolutionarily well distinct, though much less so morphologically; it is fairly likely that they were not yet entirely flightless at that time, as flightless birds have generally low resilience to the breakdown of trophic webs that follows the initial phase of mass extinctions because of their below-average dispersal capabilities.
Breeding
Penguins for the most part breed in large colonies, the exceptions being the yellow-eyed and Fiordland species; these colonies may range in size from as few as a 100 pairs for gentoo penguins to several hundred thousand in the case of king, macaroni and chinstrap penguins. Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual as well as vocal displays in all penguin species. Agonistic displays are those intended to confront or drive off — or, alternately, appease and avoid conflict with — other individuals.
Penguins form monogamous pairs for a breeding season, though the rate the same pair recouples varies drastically. Most penguins lay two eggs in a clutch, although the two largest species — the emperor and the king penguins — lay only one. With the exception of the emperor penguin, where the male does it all, all penguins share the incubation duties. These incubation shifts can last days and even weeks as one member of the pair feeds at sea.
Penguins generally only lay one brood; the exception is the little penguin, which can raise two or three broods in a season.
Penguin eggs are smaller than any other bird species when compared proportionally to the weight of the parent birds; at 2 oz, the little penguin egg is 4.7% of its mothers' weight, and the 1 lb emperor penguin egg is 2.3%. The relatively thick shell forms between 10 and 16% of the weight of a penguin egg, presumably to reduce the effects of dehydration and to minimize the risk of breakage in an adverse nesting environment. The yolk, too, is large, and comprises 22–31% of the egg. Some yolk often remains when a chick is born and is thought to help sustain the chick if the parents are delayed in returning with food.
When emperor penguin mothers lose a chick, they sometimes attempt to "steal" another mother's chick, usually unsuccessfully as other females in the vicinity assist the defending mother in keeping her chick. In some species, such as king and emperor penguins, the chicks assemble in large groups called crèches.
Penguins and humans
Penguins have no special fear of humans and will often approach groups of people. This is probably because penguins have no land predators in Antarctica or the nearby offshore islands. Dogs preyed upon penguins while they were allowed in Antarctica during the age of early human exploration as sled dogs, but dogs have long since been banned from Antarctica. Instead, adult penguins are at risk at sea from predators such as sharks, orcas and leopard seals. Typically, penguins do not approach closer than around 9 feet, at which point they appear to become nervous.
In June 2011, an Emperor penguin came ashore on New Zealand's Peka Peka Beach, 3200 km off course on its journey to Antarctica. Nicknamed Happy Feet, after the movie of the same name, it was suffering from heat exhaustion and had to undergo a number of operations to remove objects like driftwood and sand from its stomach. Happy Feet was a media sensation, with extensive coverage on TV and the web, including a live stream that had thousands of views and a visit from English actor Stephen Fry. Once he had recovered, Happy Feet was released back into the water south of New Zealand.
In popular culture
Penguins are widely considered endearing for their unusually upright, waddling gait, swimming ability and — compared to other birds — lack of fear of humans. Their black-and-white plumage is often likened to a white tie suit. Some artists and writers have penguins based at the North Pole, but there are no wild penguins in the Arctic. The cartoon series “Chilly Willy” helped perpetuate this myth, as the title penguin would interact with Arctic or subarctic species, such as polar bears and walruses.
Penguins have been the subject of many books and films, such as “Happy Feet,” “Surf’s Up” and “The Penguins of Madagascar,” all CGI films; “March of the Penguins,” a documentary based on the migration process of the emperor penguin; and a parody titled “Farce of the Penguins.” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is a children's book written by Richard and Florence Atwater; it was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1939. Penguins have also appeared in a number of cartoons and television dramas, including “Pingu,” created by Silvio Mazzola in 1986 and covering more than 100 short episodes. At the end of 2009, “Entertainment Weekly” put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Whether they were walking (“March of the Penguins”), dancing (“Happy Feet”) or hanging ten (“Surf’s Up”), these oddly adorable birds took flight at the box office all decade long."
A video game called “Pengo” was released by Sega in 1982. Set in Antarctica, the player controls a penguin character who must navigate mazes of ice cubes. The player is rewarded with cut-scenes of animated penguins marching, dancing, saluting and playing peekaboo. Several remakes and enhanced editions have followed, most recently in 2012. Penguins are also sometimes depicted in music.
In 1941, DC Comics introduced the avian-themed character of The Penguin as a supervillain adversary of the superhero Batman. He became one of the most enduring enemies in Batman's rogue's gallery. In the 60s “Batman” TV series, as played by Burgess Meredith, he was one of the most popular characters, and in Tim Burton's reimagining of the character in the 1992 film “Batman Returns,” he employed an actual army of penguins — mostly African penguins.
Several pro, minor, college and high school sport teams in the United States have named themselves after the species, including the Pittsburgh Penguins team in the National Hockey League and the Youngstown State Penguins in college athletics.
Penguins featured regularly in the cartoons of UK cartoonist Steve Bell in his strip in The Guardian newspaper, particularly during and following the Falklands War. Opus the Penguin, from the cartoons of Berkeley Breathed, is also described as hailing from the Falklands. Opus was a comical, "existentialist" penguin character in the cartoons “Bloom County,” “Outland” and “Opus.” He was also the star in the Christmas show “A Wish for Wings That Work.”
In the mid-2000s, penguins became one of the most publicized species of animals that form lasting homosexual couples. A children’s book, “And Tango Makes Three,” was written about one such penguin family in the New York Zoo.
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