Flightless seabirds of the Southern Hemisphere with flippers for swimming. They spend about half their lives on land and half at sea; only the Galápagos penguin lives at the equator.
Quick answers
What is it?Bird
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAntarctic, Africa, South America
HabitatPolar, Coast, Open ocean
ColoursBlack, White
SizeMedium
Height30–33 cm (little penguin) to about 1.1 m (emperor)
Weight1.2–1.3 kg (little penguin) to about 35 kg (emperor)
Legs2
Covered inFeathers
Lives incolonies
Lives for15–20 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Almost entirely the Southern Hemisphere, from Antarctica to the Galápagos Islands at the equator.
- What it eats
- Krill, fish, squid and other sea life, caught with the bill and swallowed whole while swimming.
Did you know
Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, lives at the equator.
Some extinct penguins were as tall or as heavy as an adult human.
Often confused with
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