penguin

Tuxedo colors, adorable waddles and adorable faces make penguins one of the most beloved animals in the world. From the equatorial deserts of Africa to the Nordic steppes of Scandinavia, humans can't help but marvel at aquatic, flightless bipedal birds! Many people mistakenly think that penguins only live in the Arctic and Antarctic, but in fact, they live in the entire southern hemisphere. One species even nests near the equator. However, no one lives in or near the Arctic Circle.

Scientists have been debating the taxonomic and genetic links of penguins, but they all agree that at least 15 species currently inhabit the planet.

The common scientific name of penguins is Penguinidae . However, the exact etymology of the word "penguin" is still up for debate. The term first appeared in the 1700s as a synonym for the puffin, a now-extinct seabird that resembled but was not related to penguins in body color. Some believe this made-up synonym is derived from the French word "pingouin," which sailors used for the puffin.

The Oxford English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster attribute the word to Welsh. They hypothesize that penguins are a mix of "pen" (Welsh for "head") and "gwyn" (Welsh for "white"), since the great auk first appeared on Whitehead Island in Newfoundland.

Other linguists believe penguin has a Latin root, linking it to the word "pinguis," which means "fat" or "oil." They attribute this theory to the Germanic word for penguin, "fettgans," which translates to "fat goose," and the Dutch word for animal, "vetgans," which also roughly translates to "fat goose."

They may look sleek and tough, but penguins are covered in feathers, and their feathers serve two main purposes. First, it helps improve buoyancy and improves their agile swimming skills. Second, penguin feathers act as insulation, allowing the birds to withstand cold water and air temperatures.

Several penguin species have unique aesthetic appeal. Rockhoppers have fancy crowns and feathers on their heads. Chinstrap penguins have a white band around their chin area, while giant penguins have golden feathers adorning their necks and heads. Cape penguins have distinctive pink patches above their eyes, while little blue penguins have blue rather than jet-black plumage.

Every once in a while, penguins are born with light brown plumage instead of black. Known as Isabella penguins, they tend to have a short lifespan due to poor camouflage – but they're beautiful!

When standing upright on land, penguins use their tails and wings for balance. If time is tight, penguins will slide on their stomachs, using their feet to propel and steer. The technique is called "tobogganing". Penguins are also skilled jumpers, and do so when traversing prickly terrain.

Penguins are very social animals and they gather in small groups called colonies. As such, they develop vocal and visual communication skills and standards. Adult male penguins are "roosters" and females are "hens". A group of penguins on land is called a "waddle"; a group in water is a "raft".

Wild penguins live almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, with the exception of banded penguins, which live near the equator and sometimes migrate to the northern hemisphere. There are large populations in Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Falkland Islands. In addition, penguins in captivity live in zoos and animal sanctuaries around the world.

The table below details specific habitat areas for different penguin species.

Penguins breed on ice or rocky outcrops. With the exception of yellow-eyed and fjord penguins, all penguins breed in large colonies, ranging from 100 to hundreds of thousands of pairs, such as chinstrap, king and macaroni penguins.

Penguins remain monogamous during the breeding season, but Chinstrap Penguins usually mate for life! Most pairs lay two eggs per clutch. The larger penguins, aka the "great penguins," only have one. Most species produce only one brood each mating season, but little penguins may have several broods.

Their eggs are small relative to the size of an adult penguin. However, the shell is very thick to withstand rough terrain. Interestingly, when Aptenodytes forsteri (emperor penguins) lose an egg or a chick, they try to kidnap the offspring of the other pair. Penguin snatches are rarely successful, but that doesn't stop them from trying!

Aptenodytes forsteri males handle all hatching tasks. Both parents share responsibility for the rest of the species. Incubation shifts can last days or weeks while one of the parents is out foraging.

about the author

Abby Parks is the author of novels, plays, short stories, poems and lyrics. She has recorded two albums of her original songs and is a multi-instrumentalist. She manages a folk music website and writes about singer-songwriters, folk bands, and other music-related articles. She is also a radio DJ for folk music shows. As well as being a pet parent to rabbits, birds, dogs and cats, Abby enjoys hunting for animals in the wild and has witnessed some of the more exotic ones such as Puffins in the Farne Islands, Puffins in Chiloe Southern Pudu (Chile), penguins in the wild, and countless wildlife of the Rocky Mountains (bighorn sheep, goats, moose, elk, marmots, beavers).