• Embed Doc
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
King penguins
Penguins are one of the most easily recognized species of flightlessbird. A colony of king penguins here gathers on South Georgia, anisland near the southern tip of South America. King penguins can standabout 1 metre tall, making them the second-largest penguin species.
Penguins riding on an iceberg
 The enormous size of some icebergs make them ideal resting andnesting habitats for penguins in the Antarctic. Penguins usually walk orhop and toboggan along on their breasts, pushing with their wings andfeet. They swim with great speed and agility in the water.
1
 
Emperor penguins with chicks
As animals and birds grow they change shape and appearance as wellas size. Emperor penguin chicks are covered with
down
(short, fluffyfeathers) until they reach maturity.
Little Blue Penguin
 This penguin’s brilliant blue coat stands out against the dull colours of the surrounding rock, but provides excellent camouflage in the water. The smallest of 18 penguin species at 41 cm (16 in) long, the little bluepenguin makes its home on the southern coasts of Australia and NewZealand.
2
 
Galápagos Penguin
Although Galápagos penguins (
Spheniscus mendiculus
) appearawkward on land, the flipper-like wings of these social, flightless birdsmake them powerful underwater swimmers. Compared to othervarieties of penguin, they are short in stature, averaging about 50centimetres (20 inches) tall when fully grown. Both male and femaleparents share equally in rearing their young, taking turns to incubatethe eggs and provide food. Only a few thousand breeding pairs existtoday, on two of the Galápagos Islands off the Pacific coast of Ecuador.Wild dogs have been a particular problem on one of the islands, butefforts are underway to eradicate the predators and protect thepenguins.
3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...