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EMPEROR PENGUIN FACTS |
Description
The Emperor Penguin is the largest penguin and endemic to Antarctica. It has a black back, black head with yellow and white on the neck. Males and females are similar in size and colour. Juveniles are duller. Chicks have white faces and are covered in grey down. The King Penguin is similar, but smaller in size, and has darker and more solid yellow marking on the neck than the Emperor Penguin. Adults weigh around 34kg. Adults are preyed on by Leopard Seals, and chicks are preyed on by birds such as the Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus).
Size
100cm - 130cm
Habitat
lives near the coast on the Antarctic ice pack and forages at sea
Food
fish, crustaceans, cephalopods (squid and octopus)
Breeding
It breeds in large colonies during the Antarctic winter. The female lays a single white egg. The male incubates the egg while the female goes to sea to feed in preparation for feeding the chick. Both adults take turns in caring for the chick.
Range
The Emperor Penguin is found on Antarctica, including the Australian Antarctic Territory. It is a vagrant on Heard Island and Macquarie Island, but has not been recorded off the Australian mainland..
Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Aves | | Order: | Sphenisciformes | | Family: | Spheniscidae | | Genus: | Aptenodytes | | Species: | forsteri | | Common Name: | Emperor Penguin |
Relatives in same Genus
King Penguin (A. patagonicus)
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