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Penguins: Species, Habitat, Anatomy And Baby Penguins
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Published: October 26, 2007
Penguins are birds known for being aquatic and not having the capacity to fly. This is because their body anatomy evolved and changed to how it is now. Ancient penguins used to be able to fly. However, they lost that capability when they grew heavier; a bird's anatomy requires them to have larger wings and lighter bodies in order to fly.
Penguins' wings have turned into flippers, which make them useless for flying. This, however, makes them superbly agile swimmers. All penguins have countershaded bodies. This means that their undersides are white and their uppersides are black. They are colored this way because it is good camouflage for them. A predator from below the water will have difficulty in trying to distinguish whether what it sees is a penguin's belly or if it is just the surface of the water. The penguins' uppersides, on the other hand, camouflage them from predators that come from above.
Penguins' wings have thick feathers for insulation, which help them stay warm when they are swimming. For the African penguin, though, these wings also help it cool down. Penguins also have the ability to drink salt water because of their supraorbital gland which filters salt excesses from their bloodstream.
There are some penguins, though, that have uppersides which are brown in color. There is approximately one in 50,000 penguins to have this kind of shading. These are called Isabelline penguins. Unfortunately, though, they are found to have shorter life spans than the usual kinds of penguins.
When penguins mate, some do so for life, and others for only some or one season. When the cold season comes, the female penguins leave the egg with the males while they go look for food for their baby. It is when the female comes back that she will switch roles with the male. Some baby penguins, when hatched, can fit right into the palm of a person's hand.
There are 17 penguin species, each one being slightly different from another. These are the following: Rockhopper, Macaroni, African, Emperor, Adelie, Chinstrap, Humboldt, Little (or Blue), King, Gentoo, Magellanic, Galapagos, Erec-Crested, Snares, Royal, Fiordland and Yellow-eyed penguins. Among all these species, though, only the Emperor penguin stays in Antarctica during frigid weather conditions.
The Emperor penguins, amongst all species, are the largest, whereas the Little Blue penguins are the smallest. The emperor penguins have an average height of approximately 1.1 meters and their weight falls at 35 kilograms, or even more. The Little Blue penguin has only an average height of around 40 centimeters and weighs about 1 kilogram.
It is a popular belief that the habitat of penguins are places where there is ice and it is almost always cold. That, however, bodes to be untrue as evidenced by the fact that the African penguin's habitat is Africa. There is also the Galapagos penguin, which is situated in Galapagos, a region described as a temperate zone.
Penguins are social and interactive creatures, making them some of the most interesting animals to observe. Always ready for a formal occasion, penguins are also some of the best dressed animals around.
Sources:
"The Body: Parts & Functions." Earthguide. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 6 Feb. 2006. 26 Oct. 2007. http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/penguins/anatomy.html.< br />
"Penguin Habitat." KidZone. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/facts10.htm .
"Baby Penguin Pictures: In the Palm of the Hand." For Kids. New England Aquarium. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.neaq.org/scilearn/kids/babypix3.html.
"Penguin." Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguins.
Penguins' wings have turned into flippers, which make them useless for flying. This, however, makes them superbly agile swimmers. All penguins have countershaded bodies. This means that their undersides are white and their uppersides are black. They are colored this way because it is good camouflage for them. A predator from below the water will have difficulty in trying to distinguish whether what it sees is a penguin's belly or if it is just the surface of the water. The penguins' uppersides, on the other hand, camouflage them from predators that come from above.
Penguins' wings have thick feathers for insulation, which help them stay warm when they are swimming. For the African penguin, though, these wings also help it cool down. Penguins also have the ability to drink salt water because of their supraorbital gland which filters salt excesses from their bloodstream.
There are some penguins, though, that have uppersides which are brown in color. There is approximately one in 50,000 penguins to have this kind of shading. These are called Isabelline penguins. Unfortunately, though, they are found to have shorter life spans than the usual kinds of penguins.
When penguins mate, some do so for life, and others for only some or one season. When the cold season comes, the female penguins leave the egg with the males while they go look for food for their baby. It is when the female comes back that she will switch roles with the male. Some baby penguins, when hatched, can fit right into the palm of a person's hand.
There are 17 penguin species, each one being slightly different from another. These are the following: Rockhopper, Macaroni, African, Emperor, Adelie, Chinstrap, Humboldt, Little (or Blue), King, Gentoo, Magellanic, Galapagos, Erec-Crested, Snares, Royal, Fiordland and Yellow-eyed penguins. Among all these species, though, only the Emperor penguin stays in Antarctica during frigid weather conditions.
The Emperor penguins, amongst all species, are the largest, whereas the Little Blue penguins are the smallest. The emperor penguins have an average height of approximately 1.1 meters and their weight falls at 35 kilograms, or even more. The Little Blue penguin has only an average height of around 40 centimeters and weighs about 1 kilogram.
It is a popular belief that the habitat of penguins are places where there is ice and it is almost always cold. That, however, bodes to be untrue as evidenced by the fact that the African penguin's habitat is Africa. There is also the Galapagos penguin, which is situated in Galapagos, a region described as a temperate zone.
Penguins are social and interactive creatures, making them some of the most interesting animals to observe. Always ready for a formal occasion, penguins are also some of the best dressed animals around.
Sources:
"The Body: Parts & Functions." Earthguide. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 6 Feb. 2006. 26 Oct. 2007. http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/penguins/anatomy.html.< br />
"Penguin Habitat." KidZone. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/facts10.htm .
"Baby Penguin Pictures: In the Palm of the Hand." For Kids. New England Aquarium. 26 Oct. 2007. http://www.neaq.org/scilearn/kids/babypix3.html.
"Penguin." Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguins.
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