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The penguin is a flightless bird that belongs to the penguin-like order, the penguin family (Spheniscidae).

The origin of the word "penguin" has 3 versions. The first suggests a combination of the Welsh words pen (head) and gwyn (white), which originally referred to the now-extinct great auk. Due to the similarity of the penguin with this bird, the definition was transferred to him. According to the second version, the name of the penguin gave English word pinwing, in translation meaning "hairpin wing". The third version is the Latin adjective pinguis, meaning "thick".

Penguin - description, characteristics, structure

All penguins can swim and dive excellently, but they cannot fly at all. On land, the bird looks rather awkward due to the structural features of the body and limbs. The penguin has a streamlined body shape with highly developed musculature of the pectoral keel, which often makes up a quarter of the total mass. The body of the penguin is quite well-fed, slightly compressed from the sides and covered with feathers. Not too large head is on a mobile, flexible and rather short neck. The penguin's beak is strong and very sharp.

As a result of evolution and lifestyle, penguin wings have changed into elastic flippers: when swimming under water, they rotate in shoulder joint screw principle. The legs are short and thick, have 4 fingers connected by swimming membranes.

Unlike other birds, the penguin's legs are significantly extended back, which forces the bird to keep its body strictly upright while on land.

To maintain balance, the penguin is helped by a short tail, consisting of 16-20 hard feathers: if necessary, the bird simply leans on it, as if on a stand.

The penguin's skeleton is not made of hollow tubular bones, which is familiar to other birds: the bones of a penguin are more reminiscent of the bones of marine mammals in structure. For optimal thermal insulation, the penguin has an impressive supply of fat with a layer of 2-3 centimeters.

The plumage of penguins is dense and dense: individual small and short feathers cover the body of a bird like a tile, protecting it from getting wet in cold water. The color of feathers in all species is almost identical - a dark (usually black) back and a white belly.

Once a year, the penguin molts: new feathers grow at different rates, pushing out the old feather, so the bird often has an untidy, ragged appearance during the molting period.

During molting, penguins are only on land, trying to hide from gusts of wind and eat absolutely nothing.

The sizes of penguins differ depending on the species: for example, the emperor penguin reaches 117-130 cm in length and weighs from 35 to 40 kg, and the small penguin has a body length of only 30-40 cm, while the weight of the penguin is 1 kg.

In search of food, penguins are able to spend a lot of time under water, plunging into its thickness by 3 meters and covering distances of 25-27 km. The speed of a penguin in the water can reach 7-10 km per hour. Some species dive to a depth of 120-130 meters.

During the period when penguins are not concerned with mating games and caring for their offspring, they move quite far from the coast, sailing into the sea at a distance of up to 1000 km.

On land, if it is necessary to move quickly, the penguin lies on its belly and, pushing off with its limbs, quickly slides over ice or snow.

With this method of movement, penguins develop a speed of 3 to 6 km / h.

The life expectancy of a penguin in nature is 15-25 years or more. In captivity, with ideal bird keeping, this figure sometimes increases to 30 years.

Enemies of penguins in nature

Unfortunately, the penguin has enemies in its natural habitat. Seagulls are happy to peck at penguin eggs, and helpless chicks are tasty prey for skua. Seals, killer whales, leopard seals and sea lions prey on penguins in the sea. They will not refuse to diversify their menu with a well-fed penguin and sharks.

What do penguins eat?

Penguins eat fish, crustaceans, plankton and small cephalopods. The bird enjoys eating krill, anchovies, sardines, Antarctic silverfish, small octopuses and squid. For one hunt, a penguin can make from 190 to 800-900 dives: it depends on the type of penguin, climatic conditions and food needs. The oral apparatus of the bird works on the principle of a pump: through its beak, it sucks in medium-sized prey along with water. On average, while feeding, birds swim about 27 kilometers and spend about 80 minutes a day at a depth of more than 3 meters.

The geographical distribution of these birds is quite extensive, but they prefer coolness. Penguins live in the cold zones of the Southern Hemisphere, mainly their concentrations are observed in the Antarctic and in the Subantarctic region. They also live in southern Australia and South Africa, are found almost along the entire coastline of South America - from the Falkland Islands to the territory of Peru, near the equator they live on the Galapagos Islands.

Classification of the Penguin family (Spheniscidae)

The order Penguin-like (Sphenisciformes) includes the only modern family - Penguins, or Penguins (Spheniscidae), in which 6 genera and 18 species are distinguished (according to the datazone.birdlife.org database dated November 2018).

Genus Aptenodytes J. F. Miller, 1778 - Emperor penguins

Aptenodytes forsteri R. Gray, 1844 – Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus F. Miller, 1778 - King penguin

Genus Eudyptes Vieillot, 1816 - Crested penguins

Eudyptes chrysocome(J. R. Forster, 1781) - Crested penguin, rocky golden-haired penguin
Eudyptes chrysolophus(J. F. von Brandt, 1837) - Golden-haired penguin
Eudyptes moseleyi Mathews & Iredale, 1921 – Northern crested penguin
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus R. Gray, 1845 - Thick-billed or Victoria penguin
Eudyptes robustus Oliver, 1953 - Snare crested penguin
Eudyptes schlegeli Finsch, 1876 – Schlegel's penguin
Eudyptes sclateri Buller, 1888 - Great crested penguin

Genus Eudyptula Bonaparte, 1856 - Little penguins

Eudyptula minor(J. R. Forster, 1781) - Little penguin

Genus Megadyptes Milne-Edwards, 1880 - Magnificent penguins

Megadyptes antipodes(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) - Yellow-eyed penguin, or magnificent penguin

Genus Pygoscelis Wagler, 1832 - Antarctic penguins

Pygoscelis adeliae(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) - Adélie Penguin
Pygoscelis antarcticus(J. R. Forster, 1781) - Antarctic penguin
Pygoscelis papua(J. R. Forster 1781) - gentoo penguin

Genus Spheniscus Brisson, 1760 - Spectacled penguins

Spheniscus demersus(Linnaeus, 1758) - Spectacled penguin
Spheniscus humboldti Meyen, 1834 - Humboldt penguin
Spheniscus magellanicus(J. R. Forster, 1781) - Magellanic penguin
spheniscus mendiculus Sundevall, 1871 - Galapagos penguin

Types of penguins, photos and names

The modern classification of penguins includes 6 genera and 19 species. Below are descriptions of several varieties:

emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri)

this is the largest and heaviest penguin: the weight of the male reaches 40 kg with a body length of 117-130 cm, the females are somewhat smaller - with a height of 113-115 cm, they weigh an average of 32 kg. The plumage on the back of the birds is black, the belly is white, in the neck area there are characteristic spots of orange or bright yellow. Emperor penguins live on the coast of Antarctica.

king penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus)

very similar to the emperor penguin, but differs from it in a more modest size and feather color. The size of the king penguin varies from 90 to 100 cm. The weight of the penguin is 9.3-18 kg. In adults, the back is dark gray, sometimes almost black, the abdomen is white, there are bright orange spots on the sides of the dark head and in the chest area. The habitats of this bird are the South Sandwich Islands, the islands of Tierra del Fuego, Crozet, Kerguelen, South Georgia, Macquarie, Heard, Prince Edward, the coastal waters of the Lusitania Bay.

Adelie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae)

medium sized bird. The length of the penguin is 65-75 cm, weight - about 6 kg. The back is black, the belly is white, the distinguishing feature is the ring white color around eyes. Adélie penguins live in Antarctica and on the island territories adjacent to it: the Orkney and South Shetland Islands.

Northern crested penguin ( Eudyptes moseleyi)

endangered species. The length of the bird is approximately 55 cm, the average weight is about 3 kg. The eyes are red, the abdomen is white, the wings and back are gray-black. Yellow eyebrows smoothly merge into tufts of yellow feathers located on the side of the eyes. Black feathers stick out on the penguin's head. This species differs from the southern crested penguin (lat. Eudyptes chrysocome) in shorter feathers and narrower eyebrows. The main part of the population lives on the islands of Gough, Inaccessible and Tristan da Cunha, located in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Golden-haired penguin (golden-haired penguin) ( Eudyptes chrysolophus)

has a color typical of all penguins, but differs in one feature during appearance: This penguin has a spectacular tuft of golden feathers above the eyes. The body length varies between 64-76 cm, the maximum weight is a little over 5 kg. Golden-haired penguins live along the southern shores of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, are slightly less common in the northern part of Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego, and nest on other islands of the Subantarctic.

gentoo penguin ( Pygoscelis papua)

the largest penguin in size after the emperor and king. The length of the bird reaches 70-90 cm, the weight of the penguin is from 7.5 to 9 kg. The black back and white belly are a typical color of birds of this species, the beak and paws are painted in an orange-red hue. The habitat of penguins is limited to Antarctica and the islands of the Subantarctic zone (Prince Edward Island, South Sandwich and Falkland Islands, Heard Island, Kerguelen, South Georgia, South Orkney Islands).

Magellanic Penguin ( Spheniscus magellanicus)

has a body length of 70-80 cm and a weight of about 5-6 kg. The plumage color is typical for all penguin species, a feature is 1 or 2 black stripes in the neck. Magellanic penguins nest on the Patagonian coast, on the islands of Juan Fernandez and the Falklands, small groups live in southern Peru and in Rio de Janeiro.

Pygoscelis antarctica)

reaches a height of 60-70 cm and weighs no more than 4.5 kg. The back and head are painted dark gray, the belly of the penguin is white. A black stripe runs across the head. Antarctic penguins live on the coast of Antarctica and the islands adjacent to the continent. They are also found on icebergs in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.

spectacled penguin, he is donkey penguin, black-footed penguin or African penguin ( Spheniscus demersus)

reaches a length of 65-70 centimeters and weighs from 3 to 5 kg. Distinctive feature birds is a narrow strip of black, curving in the shape of a horseshoe and passing along the belly - from the chest to the paws. Spectacled penguin lives on the coast of Namibia and South Africa, nests along the coastline of islands with a cold Bengal current.

little penguin ( Eudyptula minor)

the smallest penguin in the world: the bird has a height of 30-40 cm and a weight of about 1 kg. The back of the little penguin is colored blue-black or dark gray, the chest area and the upper part of the legs are white or light gray. Penguins live on the coast of South Australia, in Tasmania, New Zealand and on the adjacent islands - Stewart and Chatham.

penguin breeding

Penguins are collective birds. In the water element, they keep in flocks, on land they form colonies, the number of individuals in which reaches several tens and even hundreds of thousands. All representatives of the penguin family are monogamous and create permanent pairs.

The readiness for mating and incubation of offspring in penguins depends on the species and gender. Usually, males mature later than females, some species are ready for the appearance of penguins at the age of 2 years, other varieties of penguins begin to think about offspring a year later, others become parents only at the age of five (for example, golden-haired penguins).

During the mating season, males make rather loud sounds, reminiscent of the sound of a trumpet, trying to attract the attention of females.

Penguins nest most often on low rocky shores, while some species make primitive nests from pebbles and sparse vegetation, while others choose depressions in the rocks.

Usually 2 eggs appear in the clutch, sometimes one, very rarely three. The penguin egg is white or slightly greenish in color. Both parents incubate the eggs, replacing each other during absences for food. Incubation period lasts from 30 to 100 days depending on the type of bird.

Penguin chicks hatch blind, with thick fluff on their bodies, and begin to see clearly after a couple of weeks. The weight of a newborn penguin varies depending on the species and can reach 300 grams. Despite the care of their parents, more than 60% of the chicks die of starvation, low temperatures and skuas attacks.

For about 20 days, the penguin chicks are under constant care, but after three weeks of care, the parents leave their babies, only occasionally bringing them food. This factor leads to the fact that slightly grown up penguins begin to unite in groups called by scientists “kindergartens” or “nurseries”.

Often the period of formation of such "nurseries" falls on the time when immature penguins or birds return to the colony from sea voyages, for some reason they have lost their clutches. These individuals are actively involved in caring for the young, participate in their feeding and protect from predatory skuas, thereby increasing the survival rate of the still defenseless chicks.

Until the first molt, the penguins are exclusively on land, plunging into the water for the first time only with the appearance of thick, almost waterproof plumage.

Do they eat penguins?

It is difficult to give a definite answer to such a question. Today, a person is unlikely to decide on such a delicacy, although in extreme conditions everything can be. According to some reports, penguin meat dishes include in their menu some peoples inhabiting the territory of Antarctica.

Confirmed evidence of the use of penguin meat for food is the information in the book "Antarctic Odyssey" by author R. Priestley. It describes in detail the hunt for penguins by members of the expedition in order not to die of hunger due to lack of provisions. True, this happened quite a long time ago, at the beginning of the 20th century, and was caused by unforeseen circumstances, when the duration of the expedition unexpectedly increased. According to participants, the penguin breast was valued for its nutritional value due to its fat content and tasted good.

Among the penguins there are champion swimmers: gentoo penguins reach speeds in the water up to 32-36 km / h.
The Magellanic penguin got its name from a famous traveler who discovered an unusual flightless bird in 1520 near the island of Tierra del Fuego.
On land, the penguin is very clumsy and quite often, throwing its head back sharply, loses its balance and falls on its back. From this position, the bird can no longer rise on its own, therefore, at many polar stations, an amazing profession has appeared - a penguin lifter, or a penguin flipper. This person helps the penguins roll over and assume the bird's normal upright position.

Penguins are one of the most ancient birds on Earth. They represent a separate group of birds, separated into a separate detachment of Penguins. There are 16 species of penguins in the world.

King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

The size of these birds ranges from 40 cm in length and a weight of 1.5-2 kg for the little penguin to more than a meter in length and a weight of 35-40 kg for the emperor penguin. The body of the penguins is elongated, streamlined, the neck is short and thick, the head is proportional in size with a sharp beak. The wings are short, flipper-shaped, and the paws are very short with swimming membranes between the fingers. The legs of penguins are not located in the middle of the body like all birds, but are carried far back. Because of this, penguins are forced to keep their body upright in order to maintain balance. Penguins are flightless birds, but their body has a large muscle mass. The pectoral muscles of penguins make up 25% of their body weight, which is significantly more than that of birds capable of flight. The skeleton also has significant differences: the bones of penguins are heavy and similar to the bones of marine mammals. Of course, all these signs indicate the excellent adaptability of penguins to an aquatic lifestyle.

King penguin with chick.

All types of penguins have the same type of color - the head, back and wings are painted in dark colors(usually black or gray), the underside of the body is white. Some species have additional ornamentation in the form of tufts of golden feathers on the sides of the head. The nature of the plumage indicates a certain primitiveness of penguins: their feathers are evenly distributed over the entire surface of the body, while in other birds they grow in rows - pterylia. The feathers themselves are short and very stiff, resembling scales. The tail plumage of these birds is so strong that penguins can lean on the tail with the whole weight of the body like woodpeckers.

Golden-haired penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus).

You can meet penguins in Antarctica, on the adjacent islands and the coast of South America. True, some species have moved further north. So, the Galapagos penguins inhabited the islands of the same name, and the spectacled penguins live on the southern coast of Africa. But these species also settle only where cold ocean currents are present. Different types penguins live in various landscapes: most settle on the rocky coasts of islands and continents, but some species can be found on sandy beaches, in thickets of grass, and the penguin is magnificent even in coastal forests. The emperor penguin generally breeds in the Antarctic deserts in the depths of the continent.

Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) among thick grass.

All penguin species are social birds, forming colonies from a few hundred to a million individuals. The nature of these birds is friendly, except when they quarrel during nesting due to lack of space.

Listen penguin voices.

Densely populated colony of king penguins.

In order not to freeze, penguins often stand leaning on their tail and heels, while their paws are raised above the ground. On land, penguins move slowly, due to the vertical position of the body and short paws they mince with small clumsy steps. But these birds can also make short jumps, storming the coastal cliffs. If the penguin is in a hurry, he switches to cruising gliding, lying on the ice with his stomach and pushing off with his hind legs.

Moving on their stomach, penguins can reach speeds of up to 6 km / h.

However, all the clumsiness of birds disappears as soon as they are in the water. Penguins are the most perfect of all swimming birds! In the water, these birds give the impression of fish: they easily and naturally glide in its thickness, periodically jumping out of the water like dolphins to gain speed; they dive to a depth of 100 m! Penguins feed on crustaceans or fish, and they catch it on the move. In search of food, they can spend several hours in the water, swimming up to 25 km per day.

The breeding season for most species occurs in spring or early summer, but small species penguins can have two clutches per year. A special exception is emperor penguins, in which mating takes place in autumn, and incubating eggs and feeding chicks in winter! Penguins are monogamous birds, they form permanent pairs that remain faithful for many years. Males call their girlfriends with loud cries, and sometimes seduce them with gifts - pebbles for the future nest, brought in their beaks.

Subantarctic penguins (Pygoscelis papua) make calls during a snowstorm.

There are two types of penguin nests. Those species that form large colonies nest next to each other, at a distance of a meter, the nests in this case represent a primitive hole or hummock, poorly decorated with improvised material (pebbles and other debris).

A pair of golden-haired penguins on a nest.

Species that do not form colonies of many thousands build nests at some distance from each other (at a distance of 10-30 m), and the nest is located in a hole.

Magellanic penguin with a nestling.

Most penguins have 1-2 eggs. The chicks hatch covered in gray down. Parents take turns warming the chicks and bringing them food. Since the colonies of these birds can be located at a distance from the coast, parents visit their offspring infrequently (sometimes once every 2 days), but they bring a large amount of food at a time.

Subantarctic penguin with offspring.

Emperor penguins, breeding in winter, are completely forced to do without a nest: they incubate a single egg on their own paws, covering it with a special fold on their stomach. Moreover, birds of this species nest in the depths of the continent, so the entire period of incubation is starving. Males and females bear the parental burden in turn: first, the males incubate the eggs, and the females fatten up in the sea, then the ladies change cavaliers and feed the chicks.

An emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) holding a chick on its paws.

Grown up chicks stray into children's groups under the protection of several adult birds. The process of feeding the chicks is protracted and matured chicks can even exceed adults in size. But then the parents leave them to themselves and the chicks learn to get food on their own.

Penguins have many natural enemies. In the water, killer whales and sharks can attack them, and one species of seal - the leopard seal - is completely specialized in feeding on these birds.

A leopard seal is chasing a penguin.

Another threat awaits penguins on land: skuas and petrels rob their colonies. These birds steal both eggs and chicks, the mortality of which reaches 50-70%.

Skuas attacked a defenseless penguin.

The mother is desperately trying to protect the chick.

The female managed to repulse the attack of skuas.

Man also contributed to the destruction of penguins. Previously, the colonies of these birds were ruined by sailors and the local population in order to collect eggs and chicks, from which fat was rendered. The Galapagos and Magnificent Penguins are now endangered due to habitat disturbance.

Subantarctic penguins covered with snow.

to a colony of king penguins.