Penguins (lat. spheniscclassae) - a family of flightless seabirds, the only one in the penguin order. Only eighteen species are included in the penguin order. All members of this family swim and dive well. Penguins are of ancient origin. Their habitat is limited to the Southern Hemisphere. Most penguin species live between 45° and 60° south latitude. Antarctica and nearby islands are the place where the largest number of these birds live.
The color of all individuals is almost uniform: the back is dark, the chest and belly are white. The crests or colored feathers of some penguins complement their main outfit. The average body length of a penguin ranges between 60 and 70 centimeters, and its weight is between 5 and 6 kilograms. True, there are larger species.
They spend a good half or even three-fourths of their lives in water (which is facilitated by both the structure and the shape of their body). These amazing birds feed on squid, fish, and small marine invertebrates. This food makes it possible to accumulate fat reserves that penguins spend during the period of incubation or molting (at this time they do not eat).
The word "penguin" was coined much earlier than the birds themselves were discovered. Europeans used this "name" to call the great auk that lived on the shores of the North Atlantic. After the discovery of the true penguins, there was confusion. And even now the word of the English language "penguin" means both penguins and those same wingless auks.
When they first saw penguins, Europeans mistook them for geese. They were sailors from Vasco da Gama's crew. Having met an unusual bird, they thought that it was a special kind of geese.
Penguins are the symbol of Antarctica. This is true, but only five species of penguins have adapted to living in such harsh conditions for life. It should be remembered that the aborigines - the indigenous inhabitants of Antarctica - are only emperor penguins who spend their entire lives in these parts. Other penguins leave Antarctica with the onset of autumn.
Penguins have a very special body structure, different from other birds. The shape of their body is streamlined (which contributes to easy movement through the water). The penguin's sternum has a keel, which serves as a support for powerful muscles. This is necessary for penguins to dive. All other flightless birds have no keel. Penguins have dense bones (unlike other birds, which have tubular bones that make it easier for them to fly).
Penguins live in colonies. These settlements are huge, the number of birds in them can reach several million. The place for the nest is chosen in accordance with possible dangers: nests are made in shelters if there is a possibility of attack by ground predators. Penguins nest openly on the islands. According to scientists, penguins are the most social of all birds. However, there is bound to be an exception to every rule. So it is in this case. For example, magnificent penguins prefer to live in pairs, but they enter colonies very, very rarely.
The emperor penguin is the largest. Absolutely right. His height is more than one meter, and his weight reaches 45 kg (mainly due to fat reserves).
The smallest penguin weighs only one kilogram. It's about a little penguin. Basically, the name itself speaks for itself. Their body weight can be from one to two and a half kilograms. Body length - 30-40 centimeters. They inhabit mainly the southern coast of Australia, as well as on the northern and southern islands of New Zealand.
The emperor penguin chick hatches in winter. This is surprising, but, living in harsh conditions, emperor penguins breed in winter, when other birds move from these places to warmer ones. The female lays only one egg, which the male hides from the cold in the abdominal fold. The male stays in the colony, while the female goes to sea to feed. When a chick is born in the middle of winter, the returning female feeds it with semi-digested food stored in the stomach. The male, which by this time has lost more than half of its weight, passes the chick to its mother and sets off to sea, where it spends a month and a half. It should be noted that the chick hatches from the egg naked and then acquires feathers within a few weeks.
Penguins spend most of their lives in the water. About 75% of the time penguins devote to the aquatic environment. They have adapted to it so much that their wings resemble the flippers of marine mammals, and almost all feathers are comparable to scales.
Penguins are good swimmers. And not just good, but great! They can reach speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour.
The fastest way to get around is "dolphin swimming". The essence of this "method" is as follows: penguins either dive or jump out of the water, that is, their behavior resembles that of a dolphin. Why exactly they do this is not yet clear: either for speed, or to reduce resistance, or maybe in order to deceive their natural enemies.
Penguins dive well. The specific weight of their body due to heavy bones and the absence of subcutaneous air sacs allows penguins to dive into water to a depth of more than two hundred meters. And for example, emperor penguins are able to dive to a depth of one and a half kilometers! True, to find out what they are doing there has not yet been possible.
On land, penguins hold their bodies upright. They have short and thick legs, which are also carried back (i.e., located behind the center of gravity). When moving, penguins also rely on their tail. They can only walk in an upright position and in small steps. If there is a need for faster movement, then they glide on their belly, pushing off the snow cover with their legs and wings.
Penguins have no sense of smell. Absent or very weak, as, indeed, in all birds.
The eyes of penguins are perfectly adapted to the conditions of life in the aquatic environment. They have flat corneas, so penguins are somewhat nearsighted when out of the water. The contractility and extensibility of the pupil of penguins helps them quickly adapt to changing conditions of water illumination at a depth of up to one hundred meters.
Penguins are sensitive to water pollution. This is not surprising, especially when it comes to oil pollution. She (oil) clogs the feathers of these birds and enters their stomach. At the same time, the water-repellent properties of plumage are lost, and completely exhausted penguins can be thrown ashore.
In Europe, funny birds in black “tailcoats” became known at the beginning of the sixteenth century thanks to navigators 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 the Welsh pengwyn means - a 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 cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers and move on land.
Types of penguins in Antarctica
This family 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 endangered species.
Adélie is the most common species of the entire family. received by the name of the area where they were first seen - Adele Land.
Galapagos - northern representatives of the genus. They live very close to the equator in the Galapagos archipelago at high temperatures not typical of penguins. These handsome men, unfortunately, may soon disappear from the face of the Earth, they are threatened with extinction.
Papuan - this species is the third largest after emperor and king penguins.
Stone - these members of the family are aggressive and noisy, they are distinguished by the most vicious disposition.
Imperial - the most famous species in the whole world. In addition to their large size, they stand out among their brethren by their extraordinary tolerance of severe frosts. Cold these birds do 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 under the threat of extinction.
Natural habitat of penguins
Penguins in nature live only in the southern hemisphere of the planet. Their habitat is Antarctica, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. Birds are found in the tropics, but this does not mean that in local waters mainly the Galapagos Islands are the warmest habitat for flightless birds. The largest penguin settlements are observed on the coast of Antarctica, nearby islands and huge ice floes.
Description
Antarctic penguins, depending on the species category, differ significantly from each other in weight, height and appearance. Their weight can vary from 1 to 45-50 kg, and their height is from 30 cm to 1 meter, although some individuals are much taller 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 which they can swim freely and dexterously 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" - this is the plumage of handsome men in "tailcoats". The air between the feathers warms the body while swimming in cold water. During the molting period, the plumage completely changes. During the change of "clothing" birds cannot swim, therefore they are forced to remain hungry until such time as they "change clothes" in new feathers. It is worth noting that penguins do not freeze due to a three-centimeter layer of fat.
What do penguins eat?
Being under water, pretty divers see very well, much better than on land. When asked what penguins eat, the answer is simple - fish. Schooling species of these marine inhabitants are the basis of the diet. Sardine, horse mackerel, anchovy are the favorite food of birds. Such a diet is diluted with squid and krill.
During the day, the penguin dives under water from 300 to 900 times to get its own food. During incubation and molting, when there is no opportunity to go fishing, birds can lose half of the total mass.
Lifestyle in the wild
A group of penguins communicate with each other with the help of exclamations, and each species has its own sounds. Spectacled penguins reproduce calls that resemble those of donkeys.
As mentioned earlier, these cute creatures cannot fly, although they have wings, but they swim and dive superbly, 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 gentoo penguin, which is distinguished by its speed, can reach speeds of up to 30-35 km / h.
Habitual birds can be under water without a break for 1-1.5 minutes, while plunging to a depth of 15-20 meters. But then again, among all types of divers-record holders. The emperor penguin easily dives to a depth of about 500 meters and spends up to 15-18 minutes there.
Birds jump out of the water, the height of their jump can be up to 2 meters, thanks to which they immediately find themselves on land. Being on the shore, these excellent swimmers behave very clumsily. They walk slowly, waddling from side to side, partly in this way penguins save heat and energy. Where there is even the slightest ice slide, the birds fall on their stomachs and slide down, as if on a sled.
reproduction
During the breeding season, penguins gather in large colonies to raise their chicks. The mating season for different species takes place at different times. To incubate eggs, birds build nests from what is “at hand”. It can be stones, grass, leaves. The exception is emperor and king penguins, they place their 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 their attention to their firstborn, and the second baby, as a result of such an unfair relationship between father and mother, may die of hunger, which happens in most cases.
natural enemies
The life of penguins is constantly in danger. In nature, these cute creatures have plenty of enemies, not counting the destructive human activities, which most of all affect the decline in the Antarctic bird population.
The hardest thing is for little penguins, about 50% of which die in the first year of their lives. The main enemies of the chicks are, for example, the giant southern petrel. In addition to the danger of dying from claws, babies are constantly threatened with death from hunger.
Marine predators are considered natural enemies of adult penguins. These include sharks, killer whales, seals, leopards, and about 6-10% of birds die as a result of a collision with these animals.
To the above, one can add the fact that feral dogs that were abandoned by people 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 on the Galapagos Islands.
A lot of interesting things happen in the colonies of these flightless birds of different species. Here are some interesting facts about penguins:
Real "kindergartens" are being created in penguin colonies. Chicks at the age of 4-6 weeks gather in one place, and several adult "caregivers" leave to watch the babies. Parents, therefore, can devote all their free time to searching for food for themselves and their chicks.
. Watching the penguins, you can see that when they come to the shore, at first they just stand, looking at each other, no one dares to dive for a long time. After some time, there is one pioneer who boldly jumps into the water. Everyone else immediately follows him. This behavior is called the "penguin effect". By the way, the same situations are often created among people too.
To swim faster, penguins move by jumping out of the water like dolphins.
. Birds can drink salty sea water, as they have special glands that remove excess salt from the body.
. During warming, in order not to fall through the ice, penguins move by sliding on their stomachs, while pushing off with their paws and wings.
Penguins or penguins (lat. Spheniscidae)- a family of flightless seabirds, the only one in the order Penguin-like (Sphenisciformes). There are 18 species in the family. All members of this family swim and dive well.
There are three versions of the origin of the name "penguin":
from the Welsh pen (head) and gwyn (white) denoting the extinct great auk (Pinguinus impennis) from the auk family. And the sailors named the penguins the same way because of their similarity. Until the discovery of Antarctica, the term pinguinus was used in Europe precisely in relation to the great auk.
from the English word pinwing - wing-hairpin. The name, according to this version, again originally referred to the great auk. The version is rather doubtful, since in the English language itself the word "penguin" is written as "penguin".
from the Latin word lat. pinguis - "thick"; this is confirmed by the fact that in many European languages the word "penguin" is associated with the word "fat"
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General information
The largest of the modern representatives is the emperor penguin (height - 110-120 cm, weight up to 46 kg), the smallest - representatives of the species Eudyptula minor - a small penguin (height 30-45 cm, weight 1-2.5 kg). Such significant differences are explained by Bergman's rule, of which penguins are a frequent example. Bergman's rule states that animals living in cold regions have large body sizes, since this contributes to a more rational ratio of the volume and surface of the animal's body and, thereby, to a decrease in heat loss.
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body structure
The body shape of the penguins is streamlined, which is ideal for movement in the water. The musculature and structure of the bones allow them to work underwater with their wings almost like screws. Unlike other flightless birds, penguins have a sternum with a distinct keel, to which powerful muscles are attached. Swimming under water differs from flying in the air in that the same energy is expended on raising the wing as on lowering, since water resistance is greater than air resistance, therefore penguin blades have a larger surface than other birds, on which it is attached musculature responsible for lifting the wing. The humerus and forearm bone are connected at the elbow straight and motionless, which increases the stability of the wing. The pectoral muscles are developed and sometimes make up to 30% of the body weight, which is several times greater than the muscles of the most powerful flying birds. The femurs are very short, the knee joint is immobile, and the legs are noticeably set back, which is the reason for the unusually upright gait. Large feet with a swimming membrane are relatively short - being on land, animals often rest, standing on their heels, while the rigid tail unit serves as additional support for them. The tail of penguins is greatly shortened, since the steering function, which it usually has in other waterfowl, is performed primarily by the legs in penguins. The second clear difference between penguins and other birds is bone density. All birds have tubular bones, which makes their skeleton lighter and allows them to fly or run fast, while in penguins they are similar to the bones of mammals (dolphins and seals) and do not contain internal cavities.
thermoregulation
Within their habitat, penguins are exposed to extreme climatic conditions and have different anatomical features that allow them to adapt to these conditions. For thermal insulation, first of all, a thick layer of fat - from 2 to 3 cm - is used, above which there are three layers of waterproof, short, tight-fitting feathers evenly distributed throughout the body. The air in the layers of feathers also effectively protects against heat loss while in the water. Penguins have a well-developed "heat transfer system" in the fins and legs: the arterial blood entering them gives off heat to the colder venous blood flowing back to the body, thus heat loss is minimized. This process is called the “reverse flow principle”.
Numerous small, undifferentiated, rather hair-like feathers that make up the plumage, in almost all species of penguins, have a grayish-blue, turning into a black tint on the back, and white on the stomach. This coloration is camouflage for many marine animals. The plumage of cubs is often gray or brown, but in some species the sides and belly are white. At the end of incubation of eggs and rearing of chicks, the penguins begin to change their plumage. During molting, penguins shed a large number of feathers at the same time and during this time they are not able to swim in the water and remain without food until new feathers grow.
Vision and hearing
The eyes of penguins are perfectly adapted to the conditions of swimming under water; the cornea of their eyes is very flat, as a result of which on land the birds are a little short-sighted. Another means of adaptation is the contractility and extensibility of the pupil, which is especially pronounced in emperor penguins diving to great depths. Due to this feature, the eyes of penguins very quickly adapt to changing light conditions in water at a depth of up to 100 m. An analysis of the pigment composition allows us to conclude that penguins see in the blue part of the spectrum better than in the red, and probably even perceive ultraviolet rays. Since light in the red part of the spectrum is already absorbed in the upper layers of the water, this feature of vision is likely the result of evolutionary adaptation.
The ears of penguins, like those of most birds, do not have a clear external structure. When diving, they are tightly closed with special feathers, so that water does not penetrate into the ear. In emperor penguins, in addition, the edge of the outer ear is enlarged so that it can close, thereby protecting the middle and inner ear from pressure damage that diving to great depths can cause.
Under water, penguins make almost no sounds, and on land they communicate through screams that resemble the sounds of a pipe and rattle. It has not yet been established whether they use their hearing to track prey and locate their natural enemies.
Nutrition
Penguins feed on fish - Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum), anchovies (Engraulidae) or sardines (herring family), as well as crustaceans such as euphausiids, or krill, or small cephalopods, which they prey on by swallowing directly under water. If different species share the same habitat, their diet tends to be different: Adélie penguins and chinstrap penguins prefer krill of different sizes.
Species that feed on small crustaceans need more regularity of food than penguins that eat fish, but they spend much less energy on catching prey: if one successful attempt out of ten is enough for the latter, the former should catch up to sixteen crustaceans in one dive - in counting approximately one crustacean every six seconds - to make up for the energy costs of their own and their cubs. The number of dives during one hunt is different for each species of penguin and depends on the time of year: during the hatching of chicks, chinstrap penguins make more than 190 dives, and for emperor penguins, during their long transitions, this number can reach 860 or more.
During molting, and in some species (Adélie penguins, emperor, chinstrap and crested penguins) also during the brooding period, animals are forced to completely refuse food. This period in different species has a different duration - from one month for Adélie and crested penguins to three and a half months for male emperor penguins. Birds lose up to half their body weight as they are forced to take energy for metabolism from fat stores accumulated in advance. Male and female subantarctic, magnificent, little and donkey penguins replace each other when hatching chicks, this allows them to starve only during the molting period.
Penguins drink mostly sea water. Excess salt is excreted through special glands located above the eyes.
Movement
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The average speed that penguins develop in the water is from five to ten kilometers per hour, but higher rates are possible over short distances. The fastest way to get around is "dolphin swimming"; while the animal jumps out of the water for a short time, like a dolphin. The reasons for this behavior are not clear: it is likely that this helps to reduce the resistance of the current, or is intended to confuse natural enemies.
During the day, while feeding, penguins can swim about 27 km, at a depth of more than 3 meters, birds spend an average of about 80 minutes a day. In diving, some penguins break records: smaller species, such as the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), can stay underwater for one or (rarely) more than two minutes and dive to a depth of 20 meters, but emperor penguins are able to stay underwater for 18 minutes and dive to a depth of more than 530 meters. Although the emperor penguin's superpowers remain little understood, it is known that when diving, the animal's pulse is reduced to one-fifth of the resting heart rate; thus, oxygen consumption is reduced, which allows you to increase the duration of being under water with the same volume of air in the lungs. The mechanism for regulating pressure and body temperature during diving to great depths remains unknown.
When out of the water, penguins can jump up to 1.80 m from the coastline. Due to their relatively short legs on land, penguins move from side to side, a method of movement that has been shown by biomechanical studies to save a lot of energy. On land, penguins develop a speed of 3-6 km / h. On ice, penguins can also move quickly - they move down from the mountains, lying on their stomachs. Some species cover so many kilometers between the sea and the place where their colony settled.
Habitat
The ancestors of penguins lived in a temperate climate - when Antarctica was not yet a solid piece of ice. The climate on the planet has changed. The continents drifted, Antarctica shifted to the South Pole and became covered with eternal ice. Animals left from there or died out, but the penguins, having adapted to the cold, remained. True, earlier there were much more of them - in the course of evolution, at least 40 species that inhabited our planet more than 60 million years ago died out. Among the fossil penguins were real giants (such as Icadyptes salasi recently found in Peru) as tall as a man and weighing up to 120 kg.
Penguins live in the open sea of the Southern Hemisphere: in the coastal waters of Antarctica, New Zealand, southern Australia, South Africa, along the entire coast of South America from the Falkland Islands to Peru, the Galapagos Islands near the equator. Penguins prefer coolness, therefore, in tropical latitudes, they appear only with cold currents - the Humboldt Current on the western coast of South America or the Benguela Current, which occurs at the Cape of Good Hope and washes the western coast of South Africa.
Most species live between 45° and 60° south latitude; the largest accumulation of individuals is in Antarctica and on the islands adjacent to it.
The warmest habitat for penguins is the Galapagos Islands, located near the equator.
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reproduction
Penguins nest most often in large colonies, often numbering tens of thousands of pairs or more. Both parents alternately take part in incubation of eggs and feeding of chicks. The chicks feed on fish and crustaceans that are half-digested and regurgitated by their parents. The young take refuge from the cold in the lower folds of the parent's abdomen.
The age at which penguins begin mating varies by species and gender. So, in small, magnificent, subantarctic and donkey penguins, the first mating occurs at the age of two years; female Adélie, chinstrap, king and emperor penguins generally begin mating a year later, while males of these species are ready to mate after another year. Golden-haired penguins are ready to mate only at the age of five years.
The above data are statistical averages: in practice, the older the penguins, the more time they spend in the colonies until the actual age at which they start mating. So, for example, king penguins at the age of one year most often do not visit the colony at all; in the second year of life, they appear there for literally a few days. In subsequent years, visits to the colony become more frequent, and the length of stay in it gradually increases. Male emperor penguins often start incubating eggs only in the eighth year of life.
The time of year when penguins incubate their eggs depends primarily on climatic conditions. Galapagos, little and donkey penguins living to the north can hatch chicks throughout the year, and little penguins in some cases even manage to make two clutches a year; almost all species living in regions from the subantarctic to the antarctic begin laying eggs mainly in spring or summer. A notable exception to this rule are emperor penguins - they lay eggs in autumn. Thus, the chicks grow up just in time for the Antarctic winter at temperatures as low as -40 °C and how they adapt to low temperatures plays a decisive role in their survival. King penguin chicks also overwinter in colonies further north. During this period, parents rarely feed them, so in their first winter, the chicks lose a lot of weight. In cold Antarctic regions, one egg is incubated, in temperate and warm regions, there may be several eggs.
Penguins, not only in the water, but also on land, prefer to stay in a flock. In particular, egg-laying, incubation and rearing of chicks in large colonies occur simultaneously in many species. Such colonies can contain up to 5 million animals.
Males of species that do not lead a sedentary lifestyle often arrive at the colony earlier than females during the brooding period and try to occupy a small territory, the area of which rarely exceeds one square meter. Thus, their social behavior is nest building oriented. The only exceptions are emperor penguins, which do not build nests and do not have pronounced social behavior other than relationships with a partner and their offspring.
Males try to attract the attention of females by making calls similar to the sound of a trumpet. If this is not the first attempt to find a partner, then often it turns out to be a female with whom the male mated last year. The “divorce rate” varies among penguins of different species: the percentage of magnificent penguins who chose another partner next year is about 14, which is very low; their loyalty to their partner is also emphasized by the fact that 12% of couples have been in a relationship for more than 7 years. The situation with Adélie penguins is different - more than 50% of animals of this species change their partner for the next year, respectively, there are no cases when the relationship lasted more than 6 years. It is known that a successful brood of the past year plays a big role in choosing a partner.
There is a strong relationship between the complexity of social behavior and mate selection mechanisms on the one hand, and colony size on the other: In large colonies, the mating rituals of crowded Adélie penguins, chinstrap, subantarctic and crested penguins attract attention both visually and acoustically; Magnificent penguins or Little penguins that build nests far apart, living in dense vegetation, on the contrary, behave much more reserved.
Egg laying and brood reduction
After copulation, in which the male is forced to balance on the partner's back, eggs are laid. While emperor and king penguins incubate their single egg on their paws, females of all other penguin species lay two eggs within three to five days in an ordinary nest, which they build from materials widely found in nature - grass or small pebbles. The eggs are white or greenish in color.
Not all penguin eggs hatch successfully: especially in young pairs, chicks often do not even hatch; it was found that two-year-old parents of hatched chicks had less than 33%. Hatching success, however, rises sharply with age and reaches over 90%; only in very old penguins does this drop again to 75% due to reduced fertility. In most cases, the first egg is slightly larger than the second, so the first chick hatches earlier. /Pingvin%20(Spheniscidae)8.jpg)
The incubation period for different species is from one to two months. As a consequence, parents give preference to the older and larger chick, for example, he regularly receives more food than the one that hatched later, as a result of which the second chick in most cases soon dies. This so-called brood reduction is an evolutionary adaptation to a limited food supply: the early death of the second chick increases the chances of the first chick surviving, since there is no need to divide the limited resources between two chicks. At the same time, the second egg is a kind of "insurance" for parents in case of early death of the first chick.
While in most species brood reduction occurs only when food supplies are limited, and crested thick-billed penguins (E. pachyrhynchus) even almost always raise both chicks, brood reduction is the norm for crested penguins. It is noteworthy that the second egg of these penguins is larger than the first (the percentage is 20 to 70), and it is from the second egg that the first chick hatches.
rearing chicks
Chick rearing is divided into two phases: In the first two or three - for emperor penguins even six - weeks, the chick or chicks are under the constant supervision of one of the parents, while the other goes in search of food. When the chicks grow up, they are sent to the "kindergarten" - groups of young animals, and then both parents get food at the same time. Depending on the species, such groups, also called nurseries, may consist of a few animals from adjacent nests, as occurs with chinstrap or burro penguins, or as many as several thousand individuals, as with Adélie, gentoo or emperor penguins.
Feeding times vary between species: gentoo penguins feed their offspring daily, Adélie or chinstrap penguins every two days, and emperor penguins often only once every four days or less. However, the chicks of the latter receive more food at a time.
The amount of food in most cases corresponds to the stage of development of the chicks, however, in relation to body weight, it is always plentiful: Even chicks of small penguin species receive 500 g of food at a time; emperor penguins give their offspring up to one kilogram of fish at a time. King penguin chicks can be even heavier than their parents at 12 months.
Parent penguins of non-colonial species leave the colony shortly after molting (crested penguins, for example, within a week). In most cases, parental care ends here - cases of feeding chicks at sea are unknown, and besides, this is hardly feasible. Subantarctic penguin chicks, who live near the colony all year round, return to their parents for another two or three weeks and receive additional food; but after that they, too, are left to their own devices.
average life expectancy
The chances of penguins surviving for the first 12 months are quite low. For example, among Adélie penguins, only about half of all chicks survive after the first year. The decisive factor, on which the chances of survival largely depend, are the reserves of fat accumulated during residence in the colony, which in turn depend on feeding, that is, on the success of the parents in hunting.
The chances of survival of adults are much higher: in little Adélie penguins they are from 70% to 80%, in large emperor penguins even more than 90. The life expectancy of penguins is more than 25 years.
natural enemies
Because penguins nest mostly in isolated areas, adults on land have little to no natural predators; however, human-introduced mammals such as dogs and cats pose a serious threat. For self-defense, penguins use their beak and fins, which are effective weapons. But chicks left without parental care become easy prey for the brown skua (Catharacta antarctica). Some species of gulls use every opportunity to steal penguin eggs.
Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx), Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus), Australian (Neophoca cinerea) and New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), as well as killer whales (Orcinus orca) and sharks (Selachii) prey on penguins in the sea, especially the above species seals often patrol shallow waters near colonies, where penguins cannot use their advantage - high maneuverability. Scientists estimate that about 5% of all Adélie penguins per year die in this way.
This is probably the reason for the seemingly inexplicable fear of birds before water, to which they are so well adapted. Before entering the water, the penguins approach the shore in small groups and seem to hesitate, since apparently no one wants to be the first to enter the sea (penguin effect); this procedure often takes up to half an hour. As soon as one of the penguins gathers courage and finally jumps into the water, the rest follow him.
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Three species - the crested penguin (Eudyptes sclateri), the magnificent penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) and the Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) - were recognized as being on the verge of extinction at the beginning of the 21st century, and seven more species are in danger.
In the past, entire colonies of penguins were destroyed: people collected eggs for food and killed adults to melt subcutaneous fat and extract oil from it; today penguins face other dangers. Among them is habitat loss, as in the case of the magnificent penguins, which are threatened by increased land use and human encroachment on New Zealand's dune system. Feral mammals also pose a great danger, for example in the case of the Galapagos penguins, whose colonies on two islands were destroyed by feral dogs. In addition, climate change plays a big role: Galapagos penguin populations declined in the 1980s and 1990s due to declining fish numbers, which in turn was caused by the El Niño phenomenon associated with climate change.
Rock penguins (Eudyptes chrysochome), magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) or Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) hunting anchovies and sardines in subantarctic waters affect the interests of commercial fishing, partly specializing in the same species. While fishing organizations are suing for loss of income, many penguins are being deprived of their staple food. However, measures are being taken to resolve this conflict while respecting the interests of the fishermen.
Donkey and Magellanic penguins, whose colonies are located on the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa or in the Strait of Magellan in South America, are adversely affected by oil pollution in the water caused by shipping routes that lie there, in particular tanker routes. Oiled penguins can be caught, cleaned and released again, but the process is time-consuming and very expensive.
On the other hand, intensive hunting of baleen whales (Mysticeti) and the resulting increase in krill has led to significant increases in chinstrap and king penguin populations; the position of most Antarctic species is considered stable due to the isolation of their habitat.
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Classification
The Penguin family (Spheniscidae) contains 6 genera, 18 (19) species:
Genus Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes)
Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
Genus Crested penguins (Eudyptes)
Crested penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome)
Thick-billed penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)
Big penguin (Eudyptes robustus)
Schlegel penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli)
Great Crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)
Golden-haired penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Genus Little penguins (Eudyptula)
Lesser Penguin (Eudyptula minor)
White-winged penguin (Eudyptula albosignata)
Genus Magnificent penguins (Megadyptes)
Magnificent penguin (Megadyptes antipodes)
Genus Antarctic penguins (Pygoscelis)
Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)
Antarctic penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)
Papuan penguin (Pygoscelis papua)
Genus Spectacled penguins (Spheniscus)
Spectacled penguin (Spheniscus demersus)
Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)
Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)
Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)
penguins and man
The first acquaintance of a penguin and a man took place, obviously, in Australia: during archaeological excavations at the sites of ancient people, bones were found indicating that penguins were part of the diet of Australian aborigines in prehistoric times.
In Europe, penguins became known only at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. thanks to the travels of the Portuguese navigators Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. The first known mention of these birds is in Vasco da Gama's diary entry dated November 25, 1497, when the navigator was in Mossel Bay on the coast of South Africa. There he saw the penguins known today as the Donkey (Spheniscus demersus) and Magellanic (Spheniscus magellanicus) penguins. The donkey penguin is the first of the species to receive a scientific description, the Latin name of the family and order is derived from it - it is used by the Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in his work "The System of Nature" (Systema Naturae) in 1758. Almost all other species were discovered only at the end 18th century and in the 19th century, when the territories of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans were explored.
Penguins are very curious birds and are almost fearless on land. Unlike tamed animals, which have ceased to be afraid of humans only due to frequent contact with them, most penguins do not naturally fear humans. According to many who have been to Antarctica, the birds mistook them for penguins, albeit a little strange, although there is no way to give scientific confirmation of whether this is true.
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penguins in zoos
In Central Europe and Russia, penguins can only be found in zoos, some of which organize the so-called. "Penguin marches" - the birds are released from the enclosures, and under the supervision of the caretaker, they take a short walk around the enclosure. Penguin marches are organized by the zoos of Munster, Munich, Edinburgh and others.
Penguins kept in captivity often suffer from a fungal infection of the respiratory tract, therefore, in order to protect against diseases, it is recommended to keep birds behind glass walls, especially in warm weather.
The penguin is the only bird that can swim but cannot fly. In addition, it is the only bird that walks standing up. In this thread, I will tell you about these amazing creatures. Penguins are wingless waterfowl that live in their natural environment only in the lands of the southern hemisphere. Most penguins spend half their lives in the ocean and the other half on land. Basically, most penguin species live in Antarctica and in some of the other coldest areas of the hemisphere. Some rare species can survive in temperate and even tropical latitudes. In general, penguins are designed to live in the sea. Some species spend as much as 75% of their lives in the water, only getting out to land to lay their eggs and wait for their offspring. The heavy, hard bones act like a heavy diver's belt in the water, allowing the penguins to stay underwater. Their wings, shaped like flippers, help them "steer" underwater at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. A streamlined body, paddle-like legs, an insulating layer of fat and waterproof feathers all contribute to their efficient and comfortable stay under water. They also have a remarkable ability to dive deep (this will be discussed below). In addition, in order not to lose heat, penguins have hard, very compact feathers (up to 70 cm2) that provide waterproofing.
Penguins cover their feathers with fat from a gland near the tail to increase impermeability. The black and white coloring makes them almost invisible to predators both from above and below. Like most birds, penguins have little or no sense of smell (good for them in their crowded colonies). Like other birds, penguins have limited taste buds. It is believed that their eyesight is better when they are underwater. Scientists suspect that penguins may be nearsighted on land. Penguins are considered by scientists to be the most social birds. Colonies can contain thousands of individuals. (As many as 24 million penguins visit Antarctica!) Even at sea, they tend to swim and feed in groups. Most penguin species build nests, but nests may only consist of piles of rocks, scrapings, or voids in mud. Emperor penguins do not build nests; they store the egg between their legs under a free fold of skin called a brood pocket.
The entire body of the penguin is covered with small scaly feathers, most of which consist of rods alone, without fans. The head of some species is decorated with tufts of long, bristle-like feathers, while others have long tail feathers. The head is small, the beak is as long as the head, straight, strong, hard, laterally compressed; the neck is of medium length, passes into an almost cone-shaped torso; legs are short, almost entirely enclosed in the skin of the body, as a result of which they allow only short steps; fingers are strongly developed, all four are directed forward, but only three of them are connected by a membrane. On the ground, the bird is held vertically, leaning on the back surface of the metatarsus, but when walking, the latter stands almost vertically. Penguins walk with great difficulty, waddling; wanting to avoid danger, lie on their belly and glide with the help of wings and legs so quickly that it is difficult to catch up with them, especially on a snow-covered surface. Penguins swim and dive excellently and with amazing ease overcome the stormy waves of the open ocean - their real sphere. Unlike other birds, penguins swim with the help of wings alone, putting them into action one by one; the legs serve solely as a rudder and are extended straight back. The food of penguins consists of fish, crustaceans and soft-bodied. Penguins devote a significant part of the year to breeding, and at this time, tens and hundreds of thousands gather on the most secluded islands of the Antarctic Ocean. At this time, even non-hatching birds live on land. They nest, as they live in general - in societies. They lay two white or greenish-white eggs, which are watched in turn by both parents, since penguins have a highly developed habit of stealing other people's eggs. This explains the frequent fact of finding chicks of different species in one nest. The chicks hatch densely covered with down and grow up quickly, thanks to the extremely abundant food continuously supplied by their parents. By the end of hatching, the plumage of the latter is frayed to the last limits and they begin to molt, often retiring to secluded corners for this. The molt, judging by observations in captivity, goes very quickly, ending in two weeks. At the same time, penguins do not go into the water and, therefore, do not eat, which, obviously, is easily tolerated by them, thanks to a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.
Penguin meat is very tasteless. The northernmost boundary of the distribution of penguins passes in the Atlantic Ocean through the island of Tristan d "Acuña, in the Indian Ocean through the island of Amsterdam, and in the Pacific through the Galapagos Islands; they are also found near the coast of New Zealand, South Australia, the southern tip of Africa and along the Pacific coast of South America. This family can be divided into three groups, well characterized not only by external, but also by anatomical features. The first embraces forms that have a large size, a long, thin, slightly curved beak and contains the genera Aptenodytes and Pygoscelis. it includes the Patagonian penguin (A. patagonica) and the long-billed penguin (A. longirostris).The second group - the genus Eudyptes - has a shorter but taller beak and is easily recognized by the beautiful yellow superciliary tufts of feathers. It includes the golden-haired penguin (E. chrysocome ) In the third group, the beak is very short, strongly compressed from the sides, the upper jaw is hooked, the lower one is cut straight; there is no crest. n Cape (Spheniscus demersus) from South Africa, Spheniscus minor from Australia and the northernmost of all species - Spheniscus mendiculus from the Galapagos Islands. Fossil remains of penguins are not numerous, but a large form of P. (Palaeeudyptes antarcticus) is known from the Upper Eocene layers of New Zealand, proving the antiquity of this group of birds.
Types of penguins:
The African penguin, Spheniscus demersus, is also called the Blackfoot penguin. This penguin was found off the coast of South Africa. African penguins can swim at a speed of approximately 4.3 to 15 miles per hour (7-24 km/h), and they make sounds similar to donkeys. African (donkey) penguins have declined so much that it is time to take urgent action. Last year in South Africa there were only 26,000 pairs of penguins compared to 121,000 in 1956, and at the beginning of the last century, the population of these birds reached two million individuals. Scientists are calling for urgent action - the only way to stop further decline in the population. In addition, experts must establish what causes such a sharp decline in the number of penguins. According to Peter Barham, representing the University of Bristol (UK), the main factor here may be the reduction of food resources. In particular, it is highly likely that overfishing of sardine and anchovy, or the movement of fish to other areas due to global warming, has led to this. It is also possible that the penguins simply weakened under the influence of environmental pollution, which affected their ability to get food. Other negative factors cited are penguin-hunting fur seals, oil spills, and a reduction in cool breeding grounds in colonies due to climate change.
Penguins of the Falklands
The Magellanic Penguin is a summer islander (estimated at 100,000 pairs) who arrives to breed in the islands in September. These penguins nest in burrows dug to a depth of 4 to 6 feet. The local nickname "donkey" is derived from its loud and harsh cry, often uttered at the entrance to the hole, and also used to receive news from birds swimming in the sea at some distance from the coast. This species feeds on small crustaceans, small fish and smaller varieties of squid than those caught by man for sale. However, their diet can still be a source of potential conflict with commercial fisheries and other maritime operations. Magellan penguins leave their nests in April, apparently going to winter in the waters of the Patagonian shelf or possibly migrating far north to Brazil. Here they face problems such as poaching and oil pollution. An estimated 20,000 adults and 22,000 teenagers die along the Argentine coast each year. Studies in the Falkland Islands have recently shown a 10% decline in Magellanic penguin populations each year, but since the species is well-hidden in their colonies, it is difficult to estimate their numbers. The Falkland Islands are one of the world's most important nesting sites for birds and, given the problems faced by this species in Chile and Argentina, the survival of healthy populations of the Falkland Islands may be surprisingly important to the survival of the species in general.
The Galapagos penguin is unique among other penguins in that its habitat is not the Antarctic and subantarctic regions, not even temperate, but the Galapagos Islands located just a few tens of kilometers from the equator. The air temperature in the habitats ranges from + 18- + 28 ° С, water - + 22- + 24 ° С. About 90% of penguins live on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela. Adults reach a height of about 50 cm and a weight of about 2.5 kg. The main diet is small fish, crustaceans. The Galapagos penguins have a black head and back, there is a white stripe running from the throat up to the head and reaching the eyes, in front the penguins are white. The mandible and the tip of the mandible are black, the mandible and the skin around the eyes are pinkish-yellow. Birds usually incubate eggs for 38-40 days, male and female alternately. At the age of 60-65 days, the chicks go to sea with adults. Galapagos penguins nest near the water. The number of individuals is estimated at 1500-2000 adult birds. The Galapagos PENGUIN species is listed in the International Red Book.
The penguin is magnificent. The magnificent penguin is also called yellow-eyed. It belongs to the penguin family. Also known as Antipodes Penguin and Hoiho.
The emperor penguin is the largest penguin species. If he just stands on land hunched over, then his height will be equal to 90 centimeters. If he moves, then his height is as much as 110-120 centimeters. The weight of this penguin reaches 20-45 kilograms. Emperor penguins have the following differences in color: the dorsal side is dark or grayish-blue, on the head this color usually turns black. There are round yellowish-orange patches near the ears, which fade into the underside of the neck, and which gradually fade to white. When an emperor penguin is born. Its body is covered with white or grayish-white fluff. Emperor penguins nest along the coasts of Antarctica, as far south as 78 degrees south latitude. The nesting of emperor penguins, unlike the others, falls on a very severe time of the year - in the Antarctic winter, and already at the end of the Antarctic summer, the first emperor penguins are born. Usually at first they do not behave very actively, they stoop. They lead a passive lifestyle, but then the situation changes, and already in April penguin pairs begin to form.
golden haired penguin(lat.Eudyptes crysolophus) - a genus of crested penguins. Characteristic. Having, as is typical of all penguins, a dark dorsal side with an almost black head and a white belly, they are distinguished by the presence of tufts of golden yellow feathers above the eyes, forming a crest. The body length of golden-haired penguins is 65-76 cm. Golden-haired penguins are distributed throughout the southern part of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Golden-haired penguins nest on South Georgia, South Shetland, South Orkney and some other subantarctic islands. Their colonies are very numerous - up to 600 thousand nesting individuals. In general, there are at least 2 million adult golden-haired penguins on the coasts and in the valleys of Macquarie Island alone. Golden-haired penguins nest on the ground, arranging very primitive nests. 2 eggs are laid, the second four days after the first. Both eggs are fertilized, but the first is always smaller than the second, and usually the bird does not incubate it. The duration of incubation is 35 days, with changes of parents characteristic of penguins. Adult birds raise chicks for about two to three weeks, after which "nurseries" are formed, followed by molting and leaving for the sea around the end of January. A specific feature of golden-haired penguin colonies is a strong smell, reminiscent of the smell of rotten fish, which can be felt several kilometers from the colony. The GOLDEN-HAIRED PENGUIN species is listed in the International Red Book.
Penguin Humboldt. This species of penguins is found only along the western coast of South America, in the zone of influence of the Peruvian Current (Fork Island). A separate colony of these penguins exists on the Punihuil Islands. In total, about 12,000 pairs of individuals of this species remain in the world. 8 of them nest in Chile, 4 in Peru. The Humboldt penguin is listed in the Red Book as one of the endangered species. Due to the fact that now there is overfishing, the number of this population is significantly reduced. Also, the fact that some of the birds simply get entangled in fishing nets and die there also contributes to a decrease in the population. The size of a Humboldt penguin is approximately 70 centimeters. Its weight is about 4 kilograms. The Humboldt Penguin is very similar to the Magellanic Penguin. The coloration of female Humboldt penguins is similar to that of males, but the females are slightly smaller than the males. Penguins of this species lay their eggs from March to December. Depending on where the colony is located, the peak can be either April-May or September-October. The situation is quite possible. When Humboldt penguins raise two broods at once a year, if environmental conditions favor it.
king penguin(lat. Aptenodytes patagonicus) is a flightless bird from the penguin family (Spheniscidae). The king penguin is similar to the emperor penguin, but is slightly smaller in size and brighter in color. The body length of the king penguin is from 91 to 96 cm. Adult birds have a gray back, large bright orange spots on the sides of the black head and on the chest. The belly is white. Brown chicks. Spreading. The king penguin breeds on islands near Tierra del Fuego: South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, Marion, Crozier, Kerguelen (island), Heard, Macquarie.
The penguin can be considered an animal of the highest degree unusual and mysterious, so it is not surprising that it attracts the attention of many people. So the penguin can be found in many literary works, including Gorky and Semenov-Spassky. Several animated films were also filmed, for example, "The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin" and "Catch the Wave!", because the penguins enjoyed special attention from children. Other interesting facts include the existence of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, which plays in the strongest hockey league on the planet, as well as the fact that the penguin is one of the official symbols of the Linux company.
Interesting Penguin Facts:
All penguins live in the southern hemisphere, sometimes climbing far north (to the Galapagos Islands, almost at the very equator) or to densely populated cities (North Harbor area in Sydney, Australia). Cody's homeland is Shiverpool in Antarctica, but he is happy to live on the tropical island of Peng Gu.
Penguins can stand upright because their webbed feet are located at the very end of their torso. This also makes them such fast and strong swimmers, especially when combined with paddle-shaped wings. This is how Cody manages to catch up with Mikey the whale and get a ticket to the Big Z Tournament.
King penguins like Jick are very good divers. In search of fish and other food, they constantly dive to a depth of 100 meters, and sometimes even 200 meters. However, Jik is lazy and would rather wait until Lani brings him edible clams.
Cody belongs to a rocky penguin species with a fiery temperament and long yellow feathers near the eyes. They are full of energy and often jump over rocks - that's how they got their name!
Papuan penguins, to which Lani belongs, swim faster than all other penguins, sometimes reaching speeds of 36 km / h. Such speed helps Lani to be an excellent rescuer.
King penguin chicks, like Katie and Chumaz, hatch naked from their eggs and grow feathers over the course of a few weeks. A chick cannot live without its parents until it grows waterproof feathers, which can happen up to 13 months after it is born.
Can swim, but cannot fly. The penguin is the only bird that can swim but cannot fly. In addition, it is the only bird that walks standing up.
In penguins, feathers grow evenly. Only in a few birds do feathers grow evenly throughout the body; usually flightless species such as penguins.
Which feet to walk on water? Birds walking in shallow water, such as herons and stilts, are characterized by long legs. Birds that walk on carpets of floating leaves and bogs are characterized by long fingers and claws so as not to fall through. Penguins have short and thick legs located far behind the center of gravity. For this reason, they can only walk with their bodies upright, in short steps. If it is necessary to move faster, they lie on their belly and glide like on a sleigh, pushing off the snow with flipper wings and legs.
The best diver What do penguins do at a depth of one and a half kilometers? Japanese biologists have installed cameras on the backs of animals that spend a long time in the depths of the sea. As the authors of the project explain, the sun's rays penetrate only 150 meters deep into the ocean, so it is still unknown what they are doing at a depth of half a kilometer, for example, emperor penguins or seals, which can dive one and a half kilometers.
Can sail three weeks. The Patagonian penguin can swim for two to three weeks and cover a distance of up to 1500 km.
The fastest swimmer. The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) can swim at speeds up to 27 km/h.
They dive from the surface of the water. Penguins, loons Gavia immer, grebes, diving ducks Clangula hyemalis and many other birds dive from the surface of the water. Lacking the momentum of dive divers, they use the movements of their legs and/or wings to dive. In such species, the legs are usually located at the rear end of the body, like a propeller under the stern of a ship. When diving, they can reduce buoyancy by pressing the feathers tightly and squeezing the air sacs.
The most evil penguin. Stone penguins are very angry, noisy and aggressive.
Penguins can be considered special in everything, because they have some features of birds, fish and animals at the same time. Perhaps one of their most important advantages is how penguins swim. Despite the presence of wings, they absolutely do not know how to fly, and they move, fixing the body in an upright position. Their wings are more like flippers, helping them to row confidently in the water. Swimming speed is close to 25 km/h, some species reach 40 km/h. The overwhelming majority of penguins live in a cold climate, but a solid fat layer does not allow them to freeze. It does not allow water to pass through, retaining moisture on the surface of the body.
The period of courtship of males for females is also curious. Sexually mature individuals roam along the shore with their heads up and making inviting sounds. They are waiting for a female who will pay attention to them. It is difficult to imagine how penguins mate, given the peculiarities of their body and movement. The male performs a kind of dance, clumsiness turns into grace. Ready for mating, the female lies belly down, and the boyfriend climbs on top. Sexual intercourse lasts less than a minute, after which the penguin descends back. These birds spend little time on land, mainly during the breeding season.
The element of penguins is water, only there they are comfortable. The heavy mass pulls the birds down, where they stay freely for several minutes, diving deep. Strong paws, stiff feathers and a body shape resembling a torpedo make it possible to deftly perform various maneuvers in the ocean. It has been proven that penguins see even better underwater than on the surface. The way penguins speak cannot be called singing or cooing. They communicate little with each other through sounds that are similar to the sharp sounds of a trumpet and uterine screams.
All the food that penguins need is under water - that's where such a talent for swimmers and divers comes from. The fatty gland is located near the tail, from there the birds distribute fat with their beaks, lubricating the entire body. Hard feathers, like scales, and the lack of a downy base do not warm the penguins, but they do not let the cold through. The period when penguins are on land begins with mating and ends with the appearance of offspring. Many will be interested to learn about how penguins incubate eggs. They have a fold on their belly, under which they hide 1-2 eggs, laying them on their paws. A pair of penguins incubate clutch alternately.
There are several claims about how penguins sleep. Experts say that they can sleep standing up, or in small depressions, sprawled on the ground. From the outside, such a pose can be misleading, the penguin seems dead. There are 18 species of penguins in the world, they are protected by world organizations for the protection of nature. Penguins are undoubtedly the most interesting representatives of the fauna, every year scientists learn more and more new facts about their life.
