Introduction Penguins are among the most familiar and best loved of any wild birds Some live in Antarctica the world’s coldest continent There are 17 different species types of penguins including the king penguin emperor penguin Adélie penguin and fairy penguin Some penguins are found close to the equator the imaginary line that runs around the middle of Earth Far more live in the icy wastes of Antarctica Penguins cannot fly and they waddle clumsily on land However they are expert swimmers In short bursts they fly through the water at 20 mph 32km h 3 Penguins are clumsy walkers Belly sliding is often a quicker way to move around on ice and snow
2 Macaroni penguins are named for their yellow or orange crests 5 PENGUINS Penguins are sociable birds That means they do most things in groups especially in the breeding season A place where large numbers of penguins breed is called a colony or rookery Some colonies are huge More than two million macaroni penguins breed on one small island Questions and answers Why do penguins get together in these enormous colonies And why do they do other things in groups In this book you will find the answers to these questions You will also discover more about these fascinating birds including where they live and how they bring up their babies What’s in a name Some types of penguins have been given more than one common name For example the chinstrap penguin is also sometimes known as the ringed penguin or the bearded penguin This can become very confusing To simplify matters scientists give all animals a scientific name which never changes For example the chinstrap penguin’s scientific name is Pygoscelis antarctica
6 Safety in numbers Penguins live in groups for one main reason there is safety in numbers A group of penguins is more likely to see an enemy than a lone bird is Penguins breed in colonies because it gives their chicks a better chance of survival Penguin groups have no real social structure In many ways they are like shoals of fish every bird is equal and there are no leaders But unlike fish penguins have times when they need their own space Penguins nesting in colonies are almost always spread out evenly out of pecking reach of one another 1 A penguin looks scruffy when it is molting its old feathers but it has to molt because its feathers suffer from wear and tear Time for a change Once a year every penguin must change its feathers This change is called molting A molt takes between two and six weeks It starts from several weeks to several months after the breeding season Molting penguins cannot swim or hunt for fish so they fatten themselves up as much as they can before the process begins
PENGUINS 3 A colony of king penguins Penguins usually establish their colonies by the coast so they do not have to travel long distances from the sea with food for their chicks Huddling together for warmth A few penguins live in groups for more than just protection from predators animals that hunt and kill them Male emperor penguins huddle together during the freezing Antarctic winters to keep themselves warm Some scientists also think that penguins may hunt better in groups than on their own This is a difficult thing to prove though
