Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds that are highly adapted one's in the water. Their distinct tuxedo-like appearance is called countershading, a form of camouflage in order to keep them safe in the water. Penguins do have wing-bones, though they are flipper-like and extremely fitted to swimming. Penguins are found almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, where they grab their food underwater and raise their young on land.
Diet
Favorites: Krill, fish and squid.
In general, penguins closer to the equator eat a tad bit more fish and penguins closer to Antarctica eat more squid and krill.
Citizenry
The penguin species with the highest population is the Macaroni penguin with 4, 654, 000 pairs. The species with the lowest population is the endangered Galapagos penguin with between 6, 000-15, 000 individuals.
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Range
Penguins can be found in each continent in the Southern Hemisphere from the tropical Galapagos Islands (the Galapagos penguin) located near South America to Antarctica (the emperor penguin).
Behavoir
Penguins will be able to spend up to 75% of their lives in the water. They do all of their hunting in the liquid. Their prey can be found within 60 feet of the surface, so penguins do not have to swim in deep water. They catch prey in their beaks and even swallow them whole as they swim. Some species only leave the water meant for molting and breeding.
Penguins are social birds. Many species feed, bath and nest in groups. During the breeding season, some species form great groups, or “rookeries”, that include thousands of penguins. Each penguin has a distinct phone call, allowing individuals to find their mate and their chicks even in large groups.
Duplicate
Mating Season: Varies depending on the species, though most breed during spring together with summer.
Incubation: Varies from 1 month-66 days depending on the species.
Number of kids: King and emperor penguins lay one egg. All other species of penguin lie down two eggs.
