Classification
COMMON NAME:emperor penguin
KINGDOM:Animalia
PHYLUM:Chordata
CLASS:AvesORDER:Sphenisciformes
FAMILY:Spheniscidae
GENUS SPECIES:Aptenodytes forsteri
Morphology
There are 18 species of Penguins that can be up to 1.3 m or 4 feet tall. They can weigh 20 to 45 kg or 44 to 100 Lb. but only in a few species like the Emperor Penguin.
Biology
As mentioned before, penguins have black backs and white bellies. This pattern of coloration is called countershading and serves to camouflage the bird when it is in the water. Since penguins spend most of their time in the ocean, this coloration is an effective form of protection. Countershading also helps the penguins hunt with more success.
some penguin species have bare patches (heat windows) around their eyes. These areas have no feathers and allow excess heat to escape. The patches become very pink when the penguin is warm. Penguins can voluntarily raise their feathers to let the warm air escape. Penguins have many tiny blood vessels (capillaries) close to the skin on their wings, which helps them to cool down by just holding their wings out and letting the air move across them. Penguins can release heat through their feet, where they have a counter-current blood exchange system.
some penguin species have bare patches (heat windows) around their eyes. These areas have no feathers and allow excess heat to escape. The patches become very pink when the penguin is warm. Penguins can voluntarily raise their feathers to let the warm air escape. Penguins have many tiny blood vessels (capillaries) close to the skin on their wings, which helps them to cool down by just holding their wings out and letting the air move across them. Penguins can release heat through their feet, where they have a counter-current blood exchange system.
Facts
1.Emperor penguins walk slowly and do not hop. The maximum walking speed for emperors is 2.8 kph (1.7mph). Emperor penguins are also known to toboggan - sliding across ice on their bellies.
2.Emperor penguins have been observed swimming 14.4 kph (8.9 mph), though they normally do not exceed 10.8 kph (6.7 mph).
3.Emperor penguins breed annually during the Antarctic winter, June through August. During this time, air temperature may drop to -60°C (-76°F) and winds may reach up to 200 kph (124 mph).
4.Emperor penguins do not build nests. The male penguin stands upright and incubates a single egg on top of its feet under a loose fold of abdominal skin called a brood patch. The male fasts throughout the courtship, nesting, and incubation period. He lives off reserves of body fat which may be 3-4 cm (1.2 - 1.6 in.) thick, and loses up to 45% of his body weight. After the female transfers the egg, she goes to sea to feed while the male is incubating. She returns just before the egg is ready to hatch to relieve her mate. If the egg hatches before the female returns, the male is able to produce and secrete a curdlike substance from his esophagus to feed the chick.
5.In 1980, a tiny emperor penguin made international zoological history. The chick was the first to be hatched and raised by its parents inside the Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego, then the world's only successful emperor penguin breeding facility outside of Antarctica. And in 1982, the first hand-raised emperor penguin hatched. Since then, more than 20 emperor penguins have been hatched and raised at SeaWorld San Diego
2.Emperor penguins have been observed swimming 14.4 kph (8.9 mph), though they normally do not exceed 10.8 kph (6.7 mph).
3.Emperor penguins breed annually during the Antarctic winter, June through August. During this time, air temperature may drop to -60°C (-76°F) and winds may reach up to 200 kph (124 mph).
4.Emperor penguins do not build nests. The male penguin stands upright and incubates a single egg on top of its feet under a loose fold of abdominal skin called a brood patch. The male fasts throughout the courtship, nesting, and incubation period. He lives off reserves of body fat which may be 3-4 cm (1.2 - 1.6 in.) thick, and loses up to 45% of his body weight. After the female transfers the egg, she goes to sea to feed while the male is incubating. She returns just before the egg is ready to hatch to relieve her mate. If the egg hatches before the female returns, the male is able to produce and secrete a curdlike substance from his esophagus to feed the chick.
5.In 1980, a tiny emperor penguin made international zoological history. The chick was the first to be hatched and raised by its parents inside the Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego, then the world's only successful emperor penguin breeding facility outside of Antarctica. And in 1982, the first hand-raised emperor penguin hatched. Since then, more than 20 emperor penguins have been hatched and raised at SeaWorld San Diego
Distribution map
Vocabulary
Brood Patch A bare patch of skin covered by a fatty flap that develops low on a penguin's abdomen during the breeding season. This bare patch allows better heat transfer when a parent bird is incubating an egg so the chick can develop normally. This patch is also used to brood young chicks that have not yet developed down to keep themselves warm.Colonial Describes birds that nest and breed in a group. All penguins are colonial and typically return to the same breeding area each year, with up to hundreds or thousands of breeding pairs raising chicks in the same spot. Depending on the exact species, adult birds may share duties to care for juvenile birds.
Countershading Plumage coloration that is dark above and light below to provide effective camouflage from either direction. Penguins have countershading to protect themselves from both flying and swimming predators and so they can more effectively surprise their own prey. This black-and-white coloration on penguins often makes the birds look as though they are comically wearing tuxedos.
Piscivorous A diet that consists primarily of fish. Penguins are piscivorous birds, though the exact composition of the diet of each species can vary and often depends on range, water temperature and how deeply the bird dives in order to hunt. Penguins also eat crustaceans, small squids and mollusks. The largest penguins, the emperor and king penguins, eat almost exclusively fish.
Porpoising The act of leaping out of the water in a shallow arc while swimming. Penguins use porpoising in order to breathe, evade predators, confuse their prey, and coat their plumage with bubbles for added insulation against cold oceanic waters. The height and length of porpoising leaps will vary depending on the penguin species and water conditions.
Countershading Plumage coloration that is dark above and light below to provide effective camouflage from either direction. Penguins have countershading to protect themselves from both flying and swimming predators and so they can more effectively surprise their own prey. This black-and-white coloration on penguins often makes the birds look as though they are comically wearing tuxedos.
Piscivorous A diet that consists primarily of fish. Penguins are piscivorous birds, though the exact composition of the diet of each species can vary and often depends on range, water temperature and how deeply the bird dives in order to hunt. Penguins also eat crustaceans, small squids and mollusks. The largest penguins, the emperor and king penguins, eat almost exclusively fish.
Porpoising The act of leaping out of the water in a shallow arc while swimming. Penguins use porpoising in order to breathe, evade predators, confuse their prey, and coat their plumage with bubbles for added insulation against cold oceanic waters. The height and length of porpoising leaps will vary depending on the penguin species and water conditions.