The Many Species of Penguins

In my last post I stated that there are 17 different species of penguins. This post is dedicated to the Adelie Penguins.

The Adelie Penguins are roughly 18-30 inches tall and weigh 7.9-13 pounds. They have a distinct white ring around their eyes. There are feathers around their bill that actually cover the red bill that they have. Adelie Penguins' appearance is what everyone thinks of when they think of penguins. They have the tuxedo look to them; black back and feathers and an all white belly. These penguins can actually swim up to 45 miles per hour.

Adelie Penguins are actually in the Near Threatened category. There are 38 colonies of these penguins in the world and over five million of these birds live in the Ross Sea region. Their season for breeding is from October to February around the Antarctica. Their nests are made out of stones and need to be big enough to handle the two eggs that the female Adelie Penguins lay at a time. The male and female take turns incubating the egg until it is hatched. Once it is hatched, the newborn will stay in the nest until joining the group after a mere 22 days.

Fun Fact:  Before Adelie Penguins dive into the water, they all stand on the ice as close as possible to the ocean. When they are all ready, they end up shoving one of the birds off of the ledge. If the bird keeps swimming around once in the water, they all jump off and follow behind. If something bad happens to the bird, none of them go into the water and they back away from the ledge.

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

Intro to Penguins

Here is just some basic information about the Penguin.

Penguins are flightless birds that live in the southern hemisphere. Only a few species out of the 17 different ones actually live in Antarctica. The tallest species of penguin is the Emperor Penguin (3 ft. 7 in. average), and the shortest species is the Little Blue Penguin (16 in. average). Penguins will live in the water and on land. They eat different types of fish, krill, squid, and other types of sea creatures they can catch while they are swimming in the water. While on land, penguins mate and hatch eggs that they protect until they hatch. Penguins tend to stay in large colonies together and do not stray away from them because they could be in danger if found all alone. Penguins are also found in zoos around the world. They need cooler climates than what we are use to so they must have specific indoor habitats made to make the climate they need. There are two zoo habitats with four different species of penguins in them. These zoos are the Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri and the second zoo is in the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.

Fun Fact:  Penguins’ black and white colors are used as camouflage. While swimming in the water, penguins have many predators that are much larger than them. While penguins are swimming above their predator, their white undersides help blend them in with the bright sun if a predator is looking up at them. While penguins are swimming below their predator, their black backs and wings help blend them in with the dark ocean floor beneath them if a predator is looking down at them. 

About Carol

Hey everyone my name is Carol Drey. I am 22 years old and I am the author of 'The One Stop Penguin Shop'. I came up with this because I have been interested in penguins since I was younger. I love to look up information on them and just learn all that there is to know about penguins. I go to zoos as often as I can to see the penguin exhibit. My goal is to actually travel to a penguin habitat and walk among them. This blog can help provide people with a place to find information, pictures, and websites about penguins. 'The One Stop Penguin Shop' is here to help!