![]() Named after the wife of French sailor Jules Dumont d’Urville, Adèle, the Adélie penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae) is the smallest of the three members of the genus Pygoscelis. Adélie penguins are the most widely distributed and the most southerly penguins on the planet. Let’s take a look at these incredible birds. They all share a characteristically long set of tail feathers, but their unique feather patterns make them easy to tell apart. The genus Pygoscelis contains the 3 species that are collectively known as the brush-tailed penguins. Young king penguins don’t fledge until they are about 14 to 16 months old, so you will see chicks in a king penguin colony all year long. King penguins also have the longest breeding cycle of any penguin species. The coolest thing about king penguins is that they live in massive breeding colonies that can have hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs. Emperor penguins are true Antarctic birds while king penguins live on South Georgia, the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Tierra del Fuego, and other sub-Antarctic Islands. It’s also easy to tell the king and emperor penguins apart in the wild because they don’t live in the same regions. Additionally, king penguin chicks are a near-solid brown in color when they hatch while emperor penguin chicks have silver heads with black and white bodies. However, king penguins have much more silver in the feathers around their necks and backs. Physically, the king and emperor penguins look a lot alike. The king penguin is slightly smaller than the emperor with a maximum height of about 39 inches (100 cm) and a maximum weight of about 40 lbs (18 kg). While the emperor penguin might be one of the best-known penguin species, its close cousin, the king penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus), is no less spectacular. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the emperor penguin as near threatened as a result of this habitat loss. Since they rely so much on the Antarctic sea ice for food and shelter, emperor penguins are particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. Eventually, a young emperor penguin chick will hatch, chrèche, and then fledge into the sea before the start of the next winter season. Each parent takes a turn incubating the egg for up to two months at a time while the other waddles back to the ocean to feed. The mating rituals and life cycles of the emperor penguin are well-documented in films like March of the Penguins. The species creates breeding colonies that can have thousands of individuals that band together to raise their young. In fact, the emperor penguin can be up to 39 inches (100 cm) tall and weigh nearly 100 lbs (49 kg), so there’s no doubt that this is one big bird.Įmperor penguins live primarily on the stable pack ice of Antarctica, though you can sometimes find them on solid land. ![]() The world’s tallest penguin, the emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri) is a truly massive bird that lives solely in Antarctica. Genus Aptendoytes (Great Penguins)Īlso known as the great penguins, the two species in the genus Aptendoytes are the biggest penguins on the planet. So, without further ado, let’s meet these cute and cuddly birds! 1. To keep things simple, we’ll focus on the 19 most widely accepted types of penguins that roam the Earth. Depending on who you ask, you might be told that there’s anywhere from 17 to 21 species of these flightless birds. There’s some debate among researchers as to how many penguin species there actually are. Types of Penguins Infographic by OutforiaĪlthough we commonly think of penguins that live only on the frigid ice-covered shores of Antarctica, there are actually many kinds of penguins, each of which inhabits a unique ecosystem on our planet. How many types of penguins are there in Antarctica?.What’s the most common species of penguin?. ![]() 4| Penguins Are Skilled At Walking On Land.2| Penguins Only Live in the Southern Hemisphere.
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