Penguins (Spheniscidae) belong to the family of flightless seabirds, this is the only family in the penguin-like order. It has 18 species, all of them are beautiful and unusual in their own way. For example, the crested penguin of Antarctica is truly a miracle created by nature. Indeed, nature is the most talented sculptor and artist who breathes life into his creations!
The Great Crested Penguin (Fudyptes sclateri) is a very interesting creature. The name "penguin" came from the Welsh "pen", which means "head", and from the word "guinea", in translation - "white". Putting these two words together, we get “penguin”, for the melodiousness, the letter “e” was changed to “and”. Although there is another version of the origin of this name. The sailors nicknamed the funny tumblers with the word "pinguis", translated from Latin - "fat." Such a nickname is consistent with their physique.
Crested Penguin: Description
These hulking creatures are relatively small in size. The body length of the penguin is on average 60-65 cm, the weight of the birds is about 2.5-3.5 kg. But it should be noted that before molting, fatties gain much more, it happens that up to 6.5-7 kg. Males can be visually, even from a distance, distinguished from females by a much larger size.
Head, upper throat and black penguin cheeks. Two yellowish tufts of feathers, starting from the nostrils, stretch through dark red eyes and pass along the crown back. Thanks to the crests, they are called "crested penguins"; from other species, these handsome men are distinguished by the ability to move their feather ornament. The upper body is black, casts blue, the bottom is contrast white. Wing-fins are bluish-black with a white border around the edges. The beak is thin and rather long, brownish in color, closer to orange.
Where do large crested penguins live in nature?
Cute crested penguins in nature are found near New Zealand and Australia. They prefer to arrange their nests on the islands of Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell. During the winter months, they do not leave the cold waters of the Antarctic.
They nest in large colonies along with other species of crested penguins. The islands, which are preferred by land birds, are rocky, there are many caves in the rocks suitable for building penguin nests. It is in such caves that future feathered parents carefully build places for hatching offspring.
Breeding
As previously mentioned, crested penguins breed in large colonies. At the place where it is planned to nest (a flat section of rocks no higher than 65-70 m above sea level), the males are the first to come, in two weeks the females join them. During the reunion, fights between males begin, as the beginning of the mating season is annually noted in the penguin kingdom.
When passions subside, couples begin to build a nest. First, the female, picking up a place, scoops out garbage from it with its paws. The male is assigned “male” hard work; he brings material consisting of stones, grass and dirt. From all this, the future father of the family lays a nest.
In early October, egg laying begins, which lasts 3-4 days. Mom penguin lays two eggs: one small, the other large. During laying, the female eats nothing. When the eggs are already in the nest, hatching begins for 35 days. The first egg in 98 percent of cases disappears, and the remaining second lays.
After sitting for 2-3 days on the eggs, the expectant mother leaves to look for food, the male remains on duty in the nest, all responsibility lies with him. For 3-4 weeks, a caring father does not eat anything, he cannot leave the nest, otherwise the eggs will freeze. So the poor fellow has to fast, waiting for the return of the female. During this time, the crested handsome man loses weight very well, if his wife does not return on time, he may starve to death.
After this period, if the female’s trip ends successfully, she returns to her husband and the hatched chick (very rarely there are two chicks). The male leaves the family and leaves to look for food in order to gain lost weight. The crested penguin mother feeds the babies, burps food, warms them and takes care of them. In February, fledged grown up babies leave the shelter in which they were born.
Molting
A very interesting moment in the life of penguins is molting, this phenomenon is very protracted, and they are preparing for it in February. After the chicks leave the nest, adult birds break up and go to fatten before the molt in the sea for a whole month. After this period, families come together again, this leads to mating games. At this time, the real molt begins, which lasts 28 days. This is a honeymoon for penguins, during molting they are inseparable and spend all their time near the nest. In mid-April, feather renewal is completed, and crested penguins go to sea again.
How do they talk?
Penguins are birds, albeit terrestrial. These fat women know how to sing, especially during the courtship of the female, if, of course, these mating "serenades" can be called songs. The penguin's voice is rather a scream. Their mating games are accompanied by low sounds that are repeated evenly. Black-and-white singers “sing” in this way only during the day, never to hear their screams at night.
