Penguins
Antarctic penguins
 Emperor penguins |
 Adélie penguins |
 Chinstrap penguins |
 Gentoo penguins |
Subantarctic penguins
 King penguins |
 Royal penguins |
 Rockhopper penguins |
 Macaroni penguins |
Unusually-coloured or hybrid penguins
 Unusual royal, rockhopper and macaroni penguins |
 Unusual king penguins |
Penguins are flightless birds that are highly adapted for the marine environment. They are excellent swimmers, and can dive to great depths (emperor penguins can dive to over 500 m). Their shape enables extreme agility underwater - the feet and tail act as a rudder; the flippers act as propellers. They also have a waterproof coat of short overlapping feathers and a well developed layer of fat for insulation.
Penguins feed on small fish and krill, catching these one at a time. In turn, penguins become food for other marine animals, namely leopard seals and killer whales. On land their main predators are skuas and sheathbills - carnivorous birds that take both eggs and chicks.
All penguin species are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, but the greatest numerical concentrations are on Antarctic coasts and subantarctic islands. There are 18 species of penguins, four of which live in Antarctica. Adelie and emperor penguins breed on the shores of the Antarctic continent and nearby islands while chinstraps breed on islands around Antarctica and gentoos are found on islands ranging from the Antarctic to the subantarctic. Another four species (King, royal, rockhopper and macaroni) live on the subantarctic islands.
Both hybrid penguins and penguins with non-standard plumage are relatively rare.
In the case of abnormally coloured penguins, it is not known whether their colour patterns are genetic ie if these penguins were to breed, would their offspring be similarly coloured? It is also not clear whether abnormal colouring affects the penguins breeding success. Depending on their colouring, some of these penguins may not survive for long, as they may be relatively conspicuous to their predators.
