Penguins

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

They are extraordinarily like children, these little people of the Antarctic world, either like children, or like old men, full of their own importance and late for dinner, in their black tail-coats and white shirt-fronts — and rather portly withal.

[Danu Raven Nightshade]

Well, fish is their main diet....so yup, i'd say lil old men! Sounds about right. Huddled little old men, with a bad sense of humour, laughing raucously, and eating fish....anyone see the connection? Anyone? No just me then...

[Magus]

I'm suprised one of the many penguins that roam this site havn't responded to this.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Yes I would like some scientific facts about Penguins from Penguins themselves. But this nice thread here is not meant to be about induvidual
penguins but rather about Penguins in general.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Diet and Eating Habits of the Penguins

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A. Food preferences and resources

1 . Penguins eat krill (a shrimplike crustacean in the family Euphausiidae), squids, and fishes. Various species of penguins have slightly different food preferences, which reduces competition among species.

2. The smaller penguin species of the Antarctic and the subantarctic primarily feed on krill and squids. Species found farther north tend to eat fishes.

3. Adélies feed primarily on small krill, while chinstraps forage for large krill.

4. Emperors and kings primarily eat fishes and squids.


Krill comprises a substantial portion of the diets of Antarctic and subantarctic penguin species.

B. Food intake

1 . Intake varies with the quantity and variety of food available from different areas at different times of the year.

2. A colony of 5 million Adélies may eat nearly 8 million kg (17.6 million lb.) of krill and small fishes daily.

C. Method of collecting and eating food

1 . Penguins feed at sea. Most feeding occurs within 15.3 to 18.3 m (50-60 ft.) of the surface. The location of prey can vary seasonally and even daily.

2. Penguins primarily rely on their vision while hunting. It is not known how penguins locate prey in the darkness, at night, or at great depths, but some scientists hypothesize that penguins are helped by the fact that many oceanic squids, crustaceans, and fishes are bioluminescent (they produce light).

3. Penguins catch prey with their bills and swallow it whole while swimming. Penguins have a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey.

4. Different species travel various distances from the colony in search of food.

a. Hunting areas may range from 15 km (9 mi.) from the colony for Adélies to nearly 900 km (559 mi.) from the colony for king penguins (del Hoyo, et al., 1992). Emperor penguins may cover 164 to 1,454 km (102-903 mi.) in a single foraging trip.

b. Penguins walk and toboggan from feeding grounds to rookeries. When fishing grounds are far, penguins will feed in seal holes and other openings in the ice.

D. Fasting

1. Penguins go through annual fasting periods. Prior to fasting, penguins build a fat layer, which provides energy.

a. Penguins fast for prolonged periods during breeding seasons; they do not leave nesting areas to feed. Some penguins fast throughout the entire courtship, nesting, and incubation periods.

b. Penguins also fast during annual molting periods. The temporary reduction in insulation and waterproofing caused by the loss of feathers during a molt prohibits penguins from entering the water to feed. Their fat layer provides energy until the molt is over ..
c. Chicks fast near the time they are ready to shed juvenile feathers for adult plumage. Usually by this time, the parents no longer are feeding the chick. Growth stops during this fasting period, but resumes once the molt is complete.

2. The length of fasting depends on penguin species, sex, and type of fasting. The king and emperor penguins have the longest fasting periods.

a. Breeding male king penguins may fast for up to 54 days during courtship and the first incubation shift.

b. Breeding male emperor penguins may fast 90 to 120 days during courtship, breeding, and the entire incubation period.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

A. Social behavior

1. Penguins are among the most social of all birds. All species are colonial to some degree

2. Penguins may swim and feed in groups, but some may be solitary when diving for food. Emperor penguins have been observed feeding in groups with coordinated diving ..

3. During the breeding season some species come ashore and nest in huge colonies called rookeries. Some rookeries include hundreds of thousands of penguins and cover hundreds of square kilometers.

 4. Penguins exhibit intricate courting and mate-recognition behavior. Elaborate visual and vocal displays help establish and maintain nesting territories.

5. Although king penguins are highly gregarious at rookery sites throughout the year, they usually travel in small groups of 5 to 20 individuals.

6. Penguins communicate by vocalizing and performing physical behaviors called "displays." They use many vocal and visual displays to communicate nesting territories and mating information. They also use displays in partner and chick recognition, and defense against intruders.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

B. Individual behavior

1. Navigation.

Studies with Adélies indicate that they use the sun to navigate from land to sea. They adjust for the sun's changing position in the sky throughout the day.

2. Preening.

a. Penguins preen their feathers frequently. Feathers must be maintained in prime condition to ensure waterproofing and insulation.

b. Penguins preen with their bills. A gland near the base of the tail secretes oil that the penguin distributes throughout its feathers.

c. Penguins preen for several minutes in the water by rubbing their bodies with their flippers while twisting and turning over.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

A. Vocalizations

1. Penguin calls (vocalizations) are individually identifiable, allowing partners to recognize each other and also their chick. This is important since the members of a large colony of penguins are nearly indistinguishable on sight .

2. Research has identified differences in the calls of male and female emperor penguins. These differences probably function in courtship and mate selection.

3. There are three main kinds of penguin calls.

a. The contact call is usually used at sea to assist in visual recognition of colony members. The contact call of emperor and king penguins can be heard one kilometer (0.6 mi.) .

b. The display call is the most complex of all the calls and is used between partners in a colony. The call must convey information on territorial, sexual, and individual recognition.

c. The threat call is the simplest and is used to defend a territory and warn against predators

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Appendix: penguin species

emperor
Aptenodytes forsteri
size: 11 2 cm (44 in.), 27 to 41 kg (60-90 lb.)
distribution: circumpolar on Antarctic continent within limits of pack-ice (Marchant, 1990); one of two species restricted to the Antarctic (the other is the Adelie); generally avoid open water beyond limits of floating ice (Marchant, 1990).
population: 135,000 to 175,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened, stable with some local fluctuations

king
Aptenodytes patagonicus
size: 94 cm (37 in.), 13.5 to 16 kg (30-35 lb.)
distribution: subantarctic islands and peninsulas (Marchant, 1990); usually forage in ice-free waters (Marchant, 1990); mainly over shelf and slope areas (Stahl, et al., 1990). Most juveniles oceanic; observed several hundred kilometers from nearest colony (Ainley, et al., 1984).
population: more than 1 million pairs
Current status: not globally threatened; stable or increasing

Adélie
Pygoscelis adeliae
size: 46 to 61 cm (1 8-24 in.), 3.6 to 4.5 kg (8-1 0 lb.)
distribution: circumpolar on Antarctic continent within limits of pack-ice (Marchant, 1990); is restricted to the Antarctic (along with emperor penguins).
population: 4,169,390 breeding pairs (del Hoyo, et al., 1992)
current status: not globally threatened; stable or increasing

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

gentoo
Pygoscelis papua


size: 61 to 76 cm (24-30 in.), 5.5 to 6.4 kg (12-14 lb.)
distribution: circumpolar in subantarctic and antarctic waters; avoid pack ice and continental coasts, except near the Antarctic peninsula; usually remain near breeding islands throughout year (Marchant, 1990)
population: 260,000 to 300,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened; generally stable


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chinstrap
Pygoscelis antarctica

size: 46 to 61 cm (1 8-24 in.), 4 kg (9 lb.)
distribution: antarctic and subantarctic islands population: 6.5 million pairs
current status: not globally threatened

 

 


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rockhopper
Eudyptes chrysocome

size: 41 to 46 cm (i 6-18 in.), about 2.3 to 2.7 kg (5-6 lb.)
distribution: subantarctic islands population: 3.5 million pairs
current status: not globally threatened; possibly stable


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macaroni
Eudyptes chrysolophus

size: 51 to 61 cm (20-24 in.), 4.5 kg (1 0 lb.)
distribution: subantarctic islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
population: 11,654,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened, generally increasing

 

 


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royal
Eudyptes schlegeli

size: 66 to 76 cm (26-30 in.), 5.5 kg (1 2 lb.)
distribution: Macquarie and Campbell Islands; also around the New Zealand coast
population: 850,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened; stable

 


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Fiordland crested
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus


size: 61 cm (24 in.), 2.7 to 3 kg (6-7 lb.)
distribution: subantarctic islands and New Zealand
population: 5,000 to 1 0,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened; considered near-threatened, though stable


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erect-crested
Eudyptes sclateri

size: 63.5 cm (25 in.), 2.7 to 3.5 kg (6-7.7 lb.)
distribution: Australia; New Zealand; and Bounty, Campbell, and Auckland Islands
population: more than 200,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened; generally stable


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Snares Island
Eudyptes robustus

size: 63.5 cm (25 in.), 2.7 to 3 kg (6-7 lb.)
distribution: restricted to Snares Island, south of New Zealand
population: 33,000 pairs
current status: not globally threatened; presently stable

 

 


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yellow-eyed
Megadyptes antipodes
size: 76 cm (30 in.), 6 kg (1 3 lb.)
distribution: southeast New Zealand
population: 1,540 to 1,855 pairs
current status: vulnerable (IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals); population has decreased 40% in last 40 years

 


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fairy
Eudyptula minor
size: 41 cm (16 in.), about 1 kg (2.2 lb.)
distribution: southern Australia and New Zealand
population: less than 1 million total birds
current status: not globally threatened

 

 

 

 


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Magellanic
Spheniscus magellanicus


size: 61 to 71 cm (24-28 in.), 5 kg (11 lb.)
distribution: Falkland Islands and along the coast of Chile and Argentina
population: 4.5 to 10 million birds
current status: not globally threatened


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Humboldt
Spheniscus humboldti


size: 56 to 66 cm (22-26 in.), 4 kg (9 lb.)
distribution: islands off the west coast of South America and along the coast of Peru and Chile population: 20,000 total birds
current status: insufficiently known (IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals), CITES I


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African
Spheniscus demersus

size: 61 to 71 cm (24-28 in.), 3 kg (7 lb.)
distribution: South African waters population: 50,000 to 171,000 pairs
current status: insufficiently known (IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals), CITES II; general decline continues

 


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Galapagos
Spheniscus mendiculus

size: 53 cm (21 in.), 2.5 kg (5-6 lb.)
distribution: Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, almost astride the equator; is the most northerly penguin species
population: 6,000 to 15,000 total birds
current status: endangered (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species List)

Is there anyone that knows of another kind? Do not be shy, step forward!

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Woho, Penguin power.
This place shall be the lush grove of Penguin knowlegde!
I name it; the art of the Penguin.

[Shadoweagle]

Nooooo - THIS is the art of the penguin!

[Strolen]

I like your penguin species. I see an idea for a rank system using them....hmmmmm

SE has got you, THAT is THE art of the penguin.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

Oh well, new name then; Conserning penguins

Where have I heard that one before?.....Hmmm.

[CaptainPenguin]

An interesting taxonomy...
Yet hopelessly unschooled in the true subtleties of Penguin ranks and racial interaction, and of course unknowing of the true Penguin social structure.
Perhaps I should endeavour to enlighten them.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

A. Size

1. The emperor penguin is the largest of all living penguins, standing 1.1 m (3.7 ft.) and weighing 27 to 41 kg (60-90 lb.).

2. The smallest of the penguins is the fairy penguin, standing just 41 cm (16 in.) and weighing about 1 kg (2.2 lb.). For a complete listing of sizes by species, see the Appendix.

B. Body shape

1 .The penguin body is fusiform and streamlined, adapted for swimming
. A penguin has a large head, short neck, and elongated body.

2. The tail is short and wedge-shaped.

3. The legs and webbed feet are set far back on the body, which causes penguins to stand upright when on land.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

C. Coloration

1. All adult penguins are countershaded; that is they are dark on their dorsal (back) surfaces and white on their ventral (underside) surfaces. The dark dorsal side blends in with the dark ocean depths when viewed from above. The light ventral side blends in with the lighter surface of the sea when viewed from below. The result is that predators or prey do not see a contrast between the countershaded animal and the environment.

2. Many species have distinct markings and coloration.

a. The emperor has a black head, chin, and throat with broad yellow ear patches on the sides of the head.

b. The king penguin has a black head, chin, and throat with vivid orange, tear-shaped ear patches. The orange coloration extends to the upper chest.

c. The Adélie has a black head. Distinctive white eye rings appear during the breeding season.

d. The gentoo has a black head with white eyelids, and a distinct triangular white patch above each eye, usually extending over the head.

e. The top of a chinstrap's head is black and the face is white, with a stripe of black extending under the chin.

f. The crested penguins (genus Eudyptes), such as the rockhopper and macaroni, are distinguished by orange or yellow feather crests on the sides of the head, above the eyes.

g. The yellow-eyed penguin, as its name suggests, has yellow eyes and a stripe of pale yellow feathers extending over its dark head.

h. The fairy penguin, also known as the little blue, has slate-blue to black feathers and a white chin and chest.

i. Temperate penguins (genus Spheniscus), such as the Humboldt and Magellanic, have unfeathered fleshy areas on the face and one or two distinct black stripes across the chest.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

E. Head

1 . Different species of penguins can be identified by their head and facial markings.

2. Penguins have a variety of bill shapes which are used to capture fish, squid, and crustaceans. Generally, the bill tends to be long and thin in species that are primarily fish eaters, but shorter and stouter in those that mainly feed on krill. The mouth is lined with horny, rear-directed spines to aid in swallowing live prey.

3. Eyes.

a. The color of irises varies among the species.

(1) Many species have brown, reddish-brown, or golden-brown eyes.

(2) Rockhopper and macaroni penguins have red eyes.

(3) Fairy (little blue) penguins have bluish-gray eyes.

(4) As their name implies, yellow-eyed penguins have yellow eyes.

b. The pupil of a penguin eye is circular. When constricted, however, the pupil of the king penguin is square.

c. Like many animals, penguins have a nictitating membrane, sometimes called a third eyelid. This is a clear covering that protects the eye from injury.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

F. Legs and feet

1. Penguin legs are short and strong. Feet are webbed, with visible claws. The legs are set far back on the body to aid in streamlining and steering while swimming. This placement also causes penguins to stand vertically and walk upright.

2. Penguins walk with short steps or hops, sometimes using their bills or tails to assist themselves on steep climbs. The maximum walking speed for Adélie penguins is 3.9 kph (2.4 mph). Emperors and kings walk slowly and do not hop. The maximum speed for emperors is 2.8 kph (1.7 mph). Some species, like the rockhopper, jump from rock to rock.

3. Antarctic species can move much faster over ice by "tobogganing" on their bellies, using their flippers and feet to help them move along.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

G. Tail

The tail is short and wedge-shaped, with 14 to 18 stiff tail feathers. Members of the genus Pygoscelis have longer tail feathers, which they often use as a prop when on land.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

H. Feathers

1. Shiny feathers uniformly overlap to cover a penguin's skin. Feathers are highly specialized-short, broad, and closely spaced, helping to keep water away from the skin. Tufts of down on the feather shafts contribute to the insulative properties of the feathers.

2. Penguins have more feathers than most other birds, with about 70 feathers per square inch.

3. Most penguin species go through one complete molt (shed their feathers) each year, usually after the breeding season. The exception is the Galapagos penguin, which usually goes through two molts annually.

a. Molting is an essential function, as feathers wear out during the year. Feathers become worn when penguins rub against each other, come in contact with the ground and water, and regularly preen (clean, rearrange, and oil) their feathers.

b. The new feather grows under the old one, pushing it out. The old feather does not fall out until the new one is completely in place. The molt is patchy and can give individual penguins a scruffy look.

c. During the molt, feathers lose some of their insulating and waterproofing capabilities, and penguins stay out of the water until their plumage is restored to optimum condition.

d. Depending on the species, the average length of the molt varies from 13 days for the Galapagos penguin to 34 for the emperor penguin.

e. Because penguins don't enter the water to feed during a molt, they fast. Before their molt, they build a fat layer, which provides energy until the molt is over.

1 . Generally, penguins are not sexually dimorphic; males and females look alike. Crested penguins are exceptions: the males are more robust and have larger bills.

2. During the breeding season, female penguins are sometimes identifiable by muddy footprints on their backs, left by males during mating activity.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

We should make stats for the Penguins, and a whole gaming world of flat icy land. And then we should start an RPG.

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

A. Incubation

1. Incubation is the time spent warming the egg before it hatches. With the exception of emperor penguins, partners take turns incubating eggs, allowing each mate to leave to feed for several days at a time.

2. A female emperor penguin transfers a single egg to the top of her mate's feet. The female goes to sea to feed while the male incubates the egg alone. She returns several weeks later, usually just before the egg is ready to hatch, to relieve her mate so that he may feed. The male fasts throughout the courtship, nesting, and incubation periods. He will live off reserves of body fat which may be 3 to 4 cm (1.2-1.6 in.) thick, losing up to 45% of his body weight.

3. The incubation period varies with species. It may be as short as one month, as in the erect-crested penguins, or as long as 62 to 66 days for the emperors.

4. The incubation temperature for penguins is approximately 36°C (96.5°F); it is a bit lower for the larger species. Emperor penguins can maintain an incubation temperature of 31°C (87.8°F) in an environment that is -60°C (-76°F)

5. The greatest single cause for reproductive failure in some species is the mistiming between parents of nest relief during incubation. This usually occurs when the female fails to return from a foraging trip before the male deserts the nest. A male will spontaneously leave the nest and eggs when the motivation to feed overcomes that for incubating the eggs.

B. Hatching

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

B. Hatching

Chicks first "pip" by poking a small hole in the egg. They then chip at the shell until they can push off the top. Chicks may take up to three days to chip their way out..

[Michael Jotne Slayer]

C. Chicks at hatching

1. A fine down covers most newly hatched chicks. (King penguin chicks hatch naked and grow down within a few weeks.)

a. Down feathers of different species may be white, gray, black, or brown.

b. Down feathers are not waterproof, and chicks must remain out of the water until they acquire their juvenile plumage. Adult plumage is acquired at about one year.

2. In all species, the coloration and markings of chicks separate them from adults. Scientists believe that adult penguins do not perceive the young birds as competitors for mates or nesting sites. The chicks'coloration may elicit parental behavior from the adults instead.


Emperor chicks have striking facial markings.

3. The striking markings of emperor chicks may help to make the chicks more visible against the ice and snow; significant because emperors don't have individual nest sites where the young can be found.