Natural history

Reproduction

Many features of the penguin life cycle vary with body size and geographic distribution; the chronology of breeding may also vary within a species in relation to latitude. The majority of species breed only once each year. Certain species, such as the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), probably other members of this genus, and the blue penguin, breed twice a year. The king penguin breeds twice in three years. One egg is laid by the emperor and king penguins; all others lay two or occasionally three. Most penguins begin breeding in the austral (southern) spring or summer. King penguins are on a 14- to 18-month cycle, and the timing of an individual pair depends on the success or failure of the previous breeding attempt. Some populations of the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) also breed in winter. The breeding of the emperor penguin begins in autumn, apparently timed so that the long developmental period will produce the young in midsummer, when their chances of survival are greatest.

The gentoo, which has a circumpolar distribution, is notable for its lack of synchrony among populations, but otherwise its breeding schedule is essentially comparable to that of most other species. In the Crozet Islands off southern Africa, for example, egg laying takes place in July. The two eggs are incubated for 35 or 36 days, and the rearing of the chick takes two months. The last immature birds go to sea in January.

Many types of visual and vocal displays are employed between the arrival of the birds at the colony and their departure. Courtship calls are used during pairing and to a lesser degree during the succeeding phases of breeding. There are marked vocal differences between sexes in the emperor penguin and the king penguin and less-marked dimorphisms in some other species. Upon arrival at the colony each bird returns to the nest that it left the previous year and generally rejoins its mate of the previous year, unless the death of the latter forces it to choose another partner. This applies even to the emperor penguin, which is capable of finding its mate despite the absence of a nest and the large size of the colony.

The displays that occur with the reassembly of the colony and the finding of mates, as well as those preceding copulation, are quite similar among the majority of species, but the accompanying vocalizations are more diverse. Various species have been described as trumpeting, croaking, cackling, and cooing; members of the genus Spheniscus are called jackass penguins for the braying sounds they make. The behaviour of experienced older birds is more elaborate and more effective than that of younger individuals. For example, Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) may return to the reproductive colony from their third year onward but do not breed successfully until their fifth or sixth year.

Incubation of eggs is performed by both sexes in all species except the emperor penguin, in which it is done exclusively by the male, and it is begun immediately after egg laying. With the advent of incubation, the bustle and myriad cries that characterized mating give way to quiet and inactivity. Faulty incubation behaviour by inexperienced birds frequently results in the abandonment or breakage of eggs. The mortality rate (eggs and chicks) is very important at the egg stage, varying from year to year depending on climatic conditions, the percentage of young birds in the reproductive population, and the pressure of predation. In general, mortality (eggs and chicks) is from 40 to 80 percent of the eggs laid. In coastal colonies predators include, in order of importance: skuas, sheathbills, and the giant petrel. On the Australian, African, and South American continents, the nocturnal habits of certain penguins and the fact that they nest in burrows substantially limit predation, which is mostly by gulls and man.

Following egg laying, the female usually departs for the sea to feed, returning to relieve her mate after about 10 to 20 days. Thereafter, father and mother alternate in periods of a week or two. The female emperor penguin, however, must often walk 80 to 160 km (50 to 100 miles) from the colony to the sea and does not return until the end of the incubation period. During the 64-day incubation period, which extends through the height of the Antarctic winter, the male emperor penguin incubates the egg, holding it on his feet and living on stored fat reserves. During violent winter storms, members of the colony gather for mutual protection from wind and cold in tightly packed crowds called huddles.

Emergence from the shell takes 24 to 48 hours, during which the brooding parent is particularly irritable. The chick shows feeding behaviour immediately on hatching, receiving a regurgitated “soup” of crustaceans or fish by inserting its bill into the open mouth of the parent. During its early days the young bird is sheltered under the body of one of its parents, who take turns foraging and brooding. Growing larger, the young bird remains at a parent’s side, although the fledgling is able to maintain its body heat and move about alone. The chick then joins 100 or more of its contemporaries in a nursery group, or crèche, sometimes guarded by a few adults, while both its parents forage at sea. Upon returning with food, the parent calls its chick from the crèche and is able to distinguish it from other chicks (which frequently respond) by voice and appearance.

During the breeding season the number of “unemployed” adults in the colony increases with the addition of those who have lost eggs or chicks. In emperor penguin colonies, these unemployed birds often interfere with parents that have young and cause increased mortality. During the crèche stage the fuzzy down that has covered the chick since hatching is replaced by a coat of short stiff feathers, which are similar to those of the adult but usually somewhat different in colour. Once this molt is complete, the juvenile leaves the colony to seek its own food at sea.

The period of growth of the young bird from hatching to complete independence varies from two months, in the smallest species of the genus Eudyptula, to 51/2 months in the emperor and 12 to 14 months in the king penguin.

Adult penguins molt all of their feathers once a year following the breeding period. While in molt the bird is unable to enter the water and instead withdraws to a communal molting site usually situated in a sheltered area away from the colony. The duration of the molt varies from about two weeks in small species to more than a month in the larger ones.

The principal enemies of penguins at sea are the leopard seal and the killer whale (orca). Seals also take penguins near Australia, New Zealand, and other subantarctic regions.

Locomotion and orientation

Penguins are adapted for rapid locomotion in water, in which the wings, or flippers, are used for propulsion; the birds “fly” underwater. When moving at high speed, they frequently leave the water in leaps that may carry them a metre or more through the air; it is during this time that they breathe.

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On land, penguins are much more awkward, even amusing, as they rock from side to side as they walk. Despite their short legs, however, penguins can run with surprising speed. Some, such as the northern rockhopper (Eudyptes moseleyi), the southern rockhopper (E. chrysocome), and Adélie penguins, move among rocks with agility, using the flippers for balance. On snow or ice, many penguins “toboggan,” sliding on the belly as they propel themselves with the feet and flippers. The flippers, along with the beak, are the prime weapons in defense and attack.

Scientists have long wondered how penguins are able to find their way back to their colonies from far out at sea, where currents may have carried them great distances. Also perplexing is how they are able to direct themselves correctly on land in the absence of clear-cut landmarks. Studies of penguins transported to the interior of Antarctica have found that they are able to find their way back to the ocean by using the sun as a directional aid. It is probable that the same means of orientation is used at sea. Upon approaching the coast they are able to recognize features of the shoreline and ocean bottom.

Food habits

The type of food utilized varies with the species, the geographic region, and the time of year. Most of the smaller southern penguins feed primarily upon krill, which attain high densities in the rich, well-oxygenated Antarctic waters. Cephalopods (squid and cuttlefish) and small fishes may form substantial fractions of the food, and in a few, such as the African penguin, fish is the basic element of the diet. The total weight of food consumed by a large penguin colony is prodigious, often exceeding several tons per day.