Penguins: God’s Amazing
Handiwork
Emperor penguins
*They are the tallest of all
penguins.
* They live near and in the
South Pole (Antarctica).
* They love to tobaggon.
*Their hooked claws help them
stand on ice.
* They are known to hitch a
ride on a block of ice!
* God shows them how to
keep warm by rotating in
huddles for warmth.
All penguin babies are called “chicks”.
Emperor
penguin males
and females
take turns
holding the
egg on their
feet,… for up
to 4 months
without eating!
King penguins
They are the second largest penguin.
* Solid orange patches are on the sides of their heads
* They have a yellow patch of color under their chins and on beaks.
* They have solid white underbellies and silver-feathered backs.
King penguins don’t make nests. Instead they have a territory where they incubate
an egg while standing. Baby King Penguins stay on their parents’ feet for the first
30-40 days after hatching a greenish-colored egg. They take 14-16 months
to”fledge” a chick. Then they are able to stand alone, as their feathers are
changing to be more adult-like or they can hang out with other young penguins in
“creches”.
The King
penguin has a
distinctive
marking of
bright orange
on its neck,
beak and
throat. The
orange
marking by it’s
neck has been
referred to as
a “reversed
raindrop” in
its shape.
What do you
think? Do you
agree?
Can you tell the difference between the king and
emperor penguins shown here?
When a penguin is swimming, its shape looks like the shape of a
submarine! Submarines and torpedoes were designed after the model
of observing a fast swimming penguin! The King penguin catches fish in
it’s beak and holds it still with it’s rough, spiny tongue. This penguin is
capable of staying under water for up to 15 minutes!
Adelie penguins
grow very quickly.
When they are 2
months old, they
are ready to head
out to sea! They
are the fastest
growing of all
penguins!
These are adelie penguins and a new chick in a “rookery”.
Adelies don’t drink water but eat snow
instead! They have a gland in their nose that takes salt out of
ocean water that they swallow when catching fish! Isn’t our
God amazing in how he provides for the needs of all penguins!
Adelie
penguins
greet each
other with a
bit of noise,
raising their
beaks, and
wing
flapping.
The Chinstrap penguin
was given this name because of the thin line of black
feathers under its chin that seem like a strap from a
party hat!
Chinstraps are the most numerous of all
penguins in the world (about 14 million)!
Here is a molting
chinstrap
penguin.
It is called a
molting penguin
because it is
changing it’s
feathers from
when it was first
born to adult
penguin feathers.
Macaroni
penguins
* They are similar to Royal
penguins and in the
Crested penguins group.
* They have colonies
found in Southern
America, South Georgia
Island, and Africa.
* Macaronis are named
after a group of young
men wearing flashy
feathers in their hats
during the Revolutionary
War. The yellow feathers
on the head of the
macaroni look like the hats
of these men.
You know the
song….
“Yankee Doodle
went to town, riding
on a pony. Stuck a
feather in his cap
and called it…….
MACARONI!
Here is what
that macaroni
style hat
looked like
during the
Revolutionary
War!
Rockhopper penguin
Rockhoppers make nests by scraping
a hole in ground and lining it with
dried grass. They are called
“rockhoppers” because they jump up
and down from rocks instead of
waddling like other penguins.
Rockhoppers usually lay two eggs
but often only one survives. They are
loud, noisy and feisty birds that fight
often with each other! Rockhoppers
will quickly attack anything that
bothers them. They have feathery
yellow crests on their heads, a red
beak and red eyes!
Rockhopper
penguins
Both male and female
rockhoppers guard eggs for 32
days. Parents spend time
warming the egg for 10 day shifts.
After 4 weeks, chicks huddle
together in groups called “creches”
to keep warm.
Rockhopper chicks molt and head
to the open sea when they are
about 65 days old. A predator is
the blue whale.
This penguin lives in slightly
“warmer” regions than the
Antarctic. It is one of the smallest
penguins. They drink plenty of
natural spring water in the area.
Little blue penguins
are the smallest of all penguins.
Some grow to only 10-12 inches. They are nicknamed the
“fairy penguin”and are native to Australia.
Little Blues are shy and like
to hide in caves. They are
the only nocturnal penguin.
Gentoo
penguins
are the fastest
swimmer of all
penguins. Each
has a wide white
stripe that goes
across the top of
their heads and a
bright orange
beak. They live off
islands in the
Antarctic region.
They live in large
and noisy colonies.
Gentoos carry and pile stones, pebbles,
grass, sticks and anything that can make a
circle. They can be aggressive when they
fight over a stone!
Gentoo
penguins
African (Blackfooted)
penguins live in
south and
Southwest Africa.
They have a broad
black band that runs
in an inverted
horseshoe shape
around their front.
African
(Blackfooted
Penguins)
adults are very
noisy.
They have
habitats
damaged by oil
spills from
tankers.
Here is a
Magellanic
penguin singing
(or braying) like
a donkey.
The Magellanic
penguin
is named after the
explorer, Magellan,
who discovered
these penguins on
an expedition.
This leopard seal is a predator of the
penguin. A predator is something that
seeks to attack another animal .
Another
predator is
the Skua
bird. It is known
to steal penguin
chicks and even
battle adult
penguins to get
them!
Krill and fish found in the ocean are the
main foods of many penguins.
Can you now tell the difference between
the King and the Emperor penguins below?
Which is which?
Answer: the King penguin is on the left,
and the Emperor penguin is on the right.
Can you tell the difference between a Blackfooted penguin and the Magellanic?
Answer: the Magellanic is on the left and
the Black Footed is on the right!
Rockhopper and macaroni:
which is which?
Answer: the Macaroni is on the left and
the Rockhopper is on the right!
There are 17 kinds of penguins that God created. Now
you have learned about ten of them. You are becoming a
Penguin Expert!