PENGUINS

© Marine Discovery Centre, Henley Beach, S.A.

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 The common features of all penguins is
that they cannot fly. They use their
wings to help them swim.

There are 17 different species of

penguin and they all live south
of the Equator.

Their body is smooth and streamlined, so it

can move through the water with speed. On
land, penguins shuffle along rather slowly
on their short legs. Some penguins will
often slide headfirst down an icy hill to
gain extra
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• Penguins can’t fly even though they are birds but they
are very good swimmers.
• Penguins are warm blooded with a normal body
temperature of about 39˚ degrees C.
• Penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called
“blubber”.
• Over the top of this they are covered with “fluffy down”
feathers and then they have their “outer” feathers which
overlap to seal in warmth. To make the feathers
waterproof and windproof penguins rub oil from a gland
onto their feathers.
• Penguins are often seen in groups huddled shoulder to
shoulder with their wings tight against their body. This
is another way to help stay warm.
• Penguins, like the Galapagos, which live in tropical
weather get too hot. These penguins spread out their
wings and fluff out their feathers to help them cool off.
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 Penguin Family
CRESTED GROUP (6)

Rockhopper Snares Penguin Royal Penguin

Penguin

Erect-Crested
Penguin Macaroni Penguin Fiordland Penguin
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 Crested Group
COMMON NAME AVERAGE LENGTH WEIGHT RANGE

Rockhopper 55 cm 2.2 – 4.4 kg

Fiordland 55 cm 2.5 – 4.9 kg
Snares 56 cm 2.6 – 4.3 kg

Erect-crested 67 cm 2.9 – 6.4 kg

Macaroni 70 cm 3.7 – 6.4 kg

Royal 70 cm 4.0 – 8.1 kg

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 Penguin Family
BANDED GROUP (4)

Galápagos Penguin
Magellanic Penguin

Humboldt Penguin African or Jackass

Penguin
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 Banded Group
COMMON NAME AVERAGE LENGTH WEIGHT RANGE

Magellanic 70 cm 3.8 – 6.5 kg

Humboldt 65 cm 3.6 – 5.8 kg

Galápagos 53 cm 1.7 – 2.6 kg

African or 70 cm 2.4 – 4.0 kg

Jackass

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 Penguin Family
BRUSHED-TAILED GROUP (3)

Chinstrap Penguin Gentoo Penguin

Adélie Penguin

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 Brushed-tailed Group
COMMON NAME AVERAGE LENGTH WEIGHT RANGE

Chinstrap 68 cm 3.4 – 5.0 kg

Adélie 70 cm 3.9 – 5.3 kg

Gentoo 78 cm 4.6 – 6.5 kg

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 Penguin Family
LARGE GROUP (2)

King Penguin Emperor Penguin

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 Large Group
COMMON NAME AVERAGE LENGTH WEIGHT RANGE

King 95 cm 12 – 16 kg

Emperor 115 cm 25 – 38 kg

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 Penguin Family
OTHERS

Yellow-eyed Penguin Little or Fairy Penguin

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 Others
COMMON NAME AVERAGE LENGTH WEIGHT RANGE

Yellow-eyed 72 cm 4.2 – 8.5 kg

Little or Fairy 42 cm 0.8 – 1.3 kg

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 More Penguin facts
Penguins eat three main foods: fish, squid and crustaceans.

Kings and Emperor Penguins lay only a single egg. All other
penguins lay two eggs about four days apart.

The incubation period varies with the size of the penguin. In the
little penguin, it lasts roughly 33 days; in the medium-sized
species, it varies between 35 and 40 days and in the largest
species, it varies between 54 to 66 days.

Penguins have relatively long life spans. It’s possible that an

emperor could live for 50 years. The life span records for most
other species are around 20 years. Most emperors can live for
20 to 30 years. Little penguins can live between 6 and 7 years.
The oldest known little penguin lived to be 21 years old.

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 Penguin Terminology
BLUBBER: A thick layer of fat stored under the skin.

COLONY: A gathering place for breeding animals.

CRECHE: A group of young animals.

CROP: A place in the penguin’s body where food is held so that can be
digested.
DOWN: A layer of fine, soft feathers.
INCUBATION: The period when the egg is kept warm before it hatches.

KRILL: Shrimp-like sea animals.

MAMMAL: A warm-blooded animal, the female of which gives birth to
young that are fed on their mother’s milk.
MOULTING: When a penguin moults, its old feathers drop out and are
replaced by new feathers.

REGURGITATE: To bring up food from

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lynch, Wayne, “Penguins of the World”, Firefly Books Ltd, 1997

Love, John, “ Penguins”, Colin Baxter Photography Ltd, 1997

Pyers, Greg, “ Life Cycles of Australian Animals – Little Penguin”,

Echidna Books, Australia, 2002

Noonan, Diana, “Life Cycles- The Emperor Penguin”, Macmillan

Education Australia Pty Ltd, Australia, 1999

www.kidZone.ws/animals/penguins

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