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Penguins nest in groups called rookeries. Some of these rookeries can have over a million birds! A group of penguins on land is called a waddle. A group of penguins in the water is called a raft. Sometimes the penguin chicks in a colony stay together in a large group called a creche (pronounced "kresh").
Penguins cannot fly like other birds, but they are excellent swimmers. They cannot breathe under water. Penguins only "fly" under water. They use their flippers like birds use wings. Many birds are light weight, but not penguins. They are heavy so they can swim and dive for food.
Penguins have to keep warm. Penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called blubber. They also huddle together in large groups to help keep each other warm. Sometimes up to 5,000 penguins will huddle together!
Penguins eat seafood. They mostly eat fish and small shrimplike animals called krill and crustaceans. They have backwards bristles on their tongues to keep slippery seafood from getting away. They can drink salt water because they have a special gland in their bodies that takes the salt out of the water, and pushes it out special holes in their bill.
Penguins have many enemies. Many sea mammals, such as seals, sea lions and whales eat penguins. Large birds like eagles will also eat penguins. Some penguins are endangered because their homes are disappearing and oil spills in the ocean pollute their habitat.
Penguins love to play. They lie on their tummies and slide over ice and snow. This is called tobogganing. They also love to surf the ocean waves onto the land.
Penguins are birds, not fish. There are no penguins in the Northern Hemisphere. All penguins grow a fresh set of feathers every year and molt. Penguin babies have fluffy down. Penguins like to live in large groups. Penguins have more feathers than most other birds, about 70 feathers per square inch. Their backs are dark and their bellies are light to help them hide in the water. You can hear the sound of a Adelie penguin here! Can you fill in this worksheet with what you just learned? |
Did
you know....
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March
of the Penguins |
Click on Types of Penguins above and
choose a penguin. After you pick your penguin, click on its picture
to find out all about it using the Penguin Facts
page. Fill in the 
Click on Types of Penguins above and
pick 2 penguins to research. Click on the links to find information
about both types of penguins. Find three ways that they are similar
and three ways that they are different. Fill in this 
Using
the information found on the Penguin Facts
page, find the height or weight of all 17 types of penguins. Using
Excel or MS Works, create a spreadsheet containing the information
you learned. Create a chart from the spreadsheet.
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