In Europe, funny birds in black "tailcoats" became known at the beginning of the sixteenth century thanks to sailors from Portugal. Interesting facts about penguins immediately aroused sympathy for them among Europeans.
The name "penguin" comes from the English word penguin. According to one of the existing versions, translated from Welsh pengwyn means - white head. Which is very suitable for the description of these most interesting creatures of nature. Antarctic penguins are the only birds on the planet that can’t fly, but swim perfectly and move on land.
Antarctic Penguin Species
This family of flightless birds includes about twenty species. People know many interesting facts about penguins. Representatives of each species have their own curious features that distinguish them from each other.
Magellanic and magnificent penguins belong to one of the smallest species on the verge of extinction.
Adele is the most common type of the entire family. The name of the bird was given by the name of the area on which they were first seen - Adele’s Land.
Galapagos - northern representatives of the genus. They live very close to the equator in the Galapagos Archipelago at high temperatures not characteristic of penguins. Unfortunately, these sympathizers may soon disappear from the face of the Earth, they are threatened with extinction.
Papuan - this species is the third largest after the emperor and king penguins.
Stone - these representatives of the family are aggressive and loud, they are distinguished by the most evil temper.
Imperial - the most famous species in the world. In addition to their large size, they stand out among their counterparts by the extraordinary tolerance of severe frosts. Cold to these birds does not care. They are found even on the mainland of Antarctica.
It is very sad to state the fact that in our time most species are threatened with extinction.
Penguin Natural Habitat
Penguins in nature live only in the southern hemisphere of the planet. Their habitat is Antarctica, Australia, South America, South Africa and New Zealand. Birds are found in the tropics, but this does not mean that the local stream is predominantly cold. The Galapagos Islands are the warmest place to live flightless birds. The largest penguin settlements are observed on the coast of Antarctica, located near islands and huge ice floes.
Description
Antarctic penguins, depending on the species category, differ significantly in weight, height and appearance. Their weight can vary from 1 to 45-50 kg, and their growth is from 30 cm to 1 meter, although some individuals are much higher and more massive. It depends on the climate in which the birds live. In those places where the air temperature is lower, the largest species live, the emperor penguin takes the lead in this list. The smallest penguins live in New Zealand and Australia, this species is called "small penguins." Their weight is only about one kilogram.
The body of the birds is streamlined, thanks to this they can freely and deftly swim under water. They have developed muscles, muscle mass is about 30% of the total body weight. The bones are dense without cavities, this distinguishes penguins from flying birds, in which the bones are tubular and light.
Three layers of numerous waterproof “hairs” are the plumage of handsome men in “tailcoats”. The air between the feathers heats the body while swimming in cold water. During the molting period, the plumage completely changes. During the change of “clothes”, birds cannot swim, therefore they are forced to remain hungry until they “change into” new feathers. It is worth noting that penguins do not freeze due to the three-centimeter layer of fat.
What do penguins eat?
Being under water, nice divers see very well, much better than on land. To the question of what penguins eat, the answer is simple - fish. The flocks of these marine inhabitants are the basis of the diet. Sardine, horse mackerel, anchovy - a favorite food of birds. This diet is diluted with squid and krill.
During the day, the penguin dives underwater from 300 to 900 times to get its own food. During hatchery and molting, when it is not possible to go fishing, birds can lose half of the total mass.
Wildlife Lifestyle
A group of penguins communicate among themselves with the help of exclamations, and each species has its own sounds. Spectacled penguins reproduce screams that resemble donkeys.
As mentioned earlier, these cute creatures cannot fly, although they have wings, but they swim and dive perfectly, and in extremely cold conditions. Under water, they are able to move at a speed of 10 km / h, but this is only on average. At short distances, the papuan penguin, which is distinguished by its speed, can reach speeds of up to 30-35 km / h.
Birds accustomed to scuba diving can be under water without a break for 1-1.5 minutes, while plunging to a depth of 15-20 meters. But then again, there are record-breaking divers among all types. The emperor penguin easily dives to a depth of about 500 meters and spends there up to 15-18 minutes.
Birds jump out of the water, their jump height can be up to 2 meters, so they immediately find themselves on land. On the beach, these great swimmers are very clumsy. They walk slowly, swaying from side to side, partly in this way penguins save heat and energy. Where there is even the slightest ice slide, birds fall on their stomach and slide down, like on a sled.
Breeding
In the breeding season, penguins gather in large colonies to grow chicks. The mating season in different species takes place at different times. To hatch eggs, birds build nests from what is "at hand." It can be stones, grass, leaves. The exception is the emperor and king penguins, they put eggs in a special fold on their stomach. There they are until the appearance of the chicks.
The incubation period lasts from one to two months. If initially there were two eggs, and two chicks hatched, then the parents give all the attention to their first child, and the second baby as a result of such an unfair attitude of the pope and mother can die of hunger, which happens in most cases.
Natural enemies
Penguin life is constantly in danger. In nature, these lovely creatures have plenty of enemies, not counting the destructive activity of man, which most affects the reduction in the population of Antarctic birds.
The most difficult thing is for little penguins, about 50% of whom die in the first year of their lives. The main enemies of the chicks are birds of prey, such as the giant southern petrel. In addition to the danger of dying from claws, babies are constantly threatened with death from hunger.
The natural enemies of adult penguins are marine predators. These include sharks, killer whales, seals, leopards and sea lions. About 6-10% of birds die as a result of a collision with these animals.
To the above, we can add that the feral dogs that people abandoned are also very dangerous for settlements of clumsy creatures that are not able to escape from enemies on land. In the twentieth century, entire colonies of penguins were destroyed by wild dogs in the Galapagos Islands.
