Story of Penguins

 Story of Penguins:

Penguins are flightless seabirds that live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. They are built for swimming, with sleek black-and-white plumage, dense feathers, and strong flippers. They range from the tiny blue penguin, at about 12 inches, to the massive emperor penguin, which stands over 3 feet tall.

How have penguins adapted to life in cold Antarctic waters?

Penguins are built for the freeze. They have thick, waterproof feathers and a layer of blubber that traps heat, along with solid bones and stiff flippers for diving. They also huddle together to reduce heat loss by as much as half.

Life is not always easy for penguins.

**Singing: ** Adults sing to their mates, and chicks sing for their parents.

**Sledging: ** Penguins speed down icy hills on their feet and bellies to get somewhere fast.

Penguins go surfing, too. They surf through the waves, and sometimes they surf right from the water up onto the land. A penguin that surfs is called a “hang-ten-guin.”

They swim, they march, and they slide through the snow. They are penguins, and they are perfectly suited to life at sea. They have a sleek shape for speed, and a layer of blubber keeps them warm. Their stiff flippers act like boat paddles to push and steer, and their big eyes help them see underwater. Their black backs make them hard to see from above, while their light bellies make them hard to see from below. But it is their strong, solid flippers that help them escape predators and get where they want to go.

Penguins can swim about 15 miles an hour. When they want to go faster, they leap out of the water as they swim. This is called porpoising, because it is what porpoises do.

A predator is an animal that eats other animals.

Penguins’ favorite food? Life in the ocean is fish-elicious! Penguins eat a lot of fish. They have a hooked bill, or beak, to help them grab their dinner, and barbs on their tongues and in their throats help them hold on to slippery food.

They drink salty water to go with that fish. Penguins are able to remove the salt from ocean water, leaving them fresh water to drink while the salt dribbles back into the ocean.

While penguins are swallowing their dinners, they must be careful not to end up as dinner themselves. Penguins are a favourite food of marine mammals such as leopard seals and killer whales.

Most penguins lay two eggs at a time, but often only one egg survives. The mother and father take turns keeping the egg warm. In many cases, the parents keep the chick warm and fed. After a couple of weeks, hundreds or even thousands of chicks wait together while the parents go back to the sea to find food. As the chicks wait, they are in constant danger from skuas, eagles, and other animals. Finally, the parents return with food, but they must find their chicks in a huge crowd of baby birds. How do they do it? The baby birds sing special songs to help their parents find them.

In a few months, the whole family returns to the sea. For emperor penguins, getting to their nesting grounds is hard work. Their home is Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth.

Emperor penguins nest much farther from the ocean than other penguins do. They must march for days and nights through snow and wind. After laying her egg, the female gives it to the male, who keeps it warm in a flap under his belly. Unlike other penguins, the male emperor cares for the egg by himself while the female goes back to the ocean to find food. The mother has been gone for more than four months. The father clusters with other male penguins to keep himself and his eggs safe and warm. During this time, the father eats nothing but snow. When the mother returns in July, the father quickly goes to the ocean to find food. By December, the whole family is ready to go.