Where Do Penguins Live?

Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds; the body is designed in such a way that allows them to move quickly in water. The penguin body is covered with feathers which offer them insulating. When the penguins are on land, the flippers and the tail helps them to maintain their body balance, and when they are in the water, the fins help them to swim. The rear of the penguins is short and wedged shaped. When penguins move on snow, they slide on their bellies; this allows them to move faster and use less energy. Penguins are featured with four toes on each foot. 

Are Penguin Birds?

In terms of zoology, penguins are classified as birds (Aves) Penguins are associated with the Spheniscidae family, which is an order of flightless birds.

Are Penguins Mammals?

A penguin is not a mammal but a bird, they don’t give birth to the young ones as mammals do. Penguin is egg-laying creatures.

Where are Penguins Located?

Penguins are native to the southern hemisphere; they prefer to live in a cold climate. Mostly all the species live in the temperate zone except one species which lives near the equator.

Penguin Species:

Here are the living species of penguin that exists on earth:

King penguin- (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

These are found in the Antarctica region in the Falkland Islands, which is the frozen island of the southern Atlantic Ocean. These birds are the second largest species of penguin. King penguins can weigh 10-16 kg, and their height can grow up to 70-100 cm. The diet of king penguin includes small fish, squid, and small shellfish. The appearance of these species white belly, golden yellow neck, and orange-red cheeks.

Emperor penguin- (Aptenodytes forsteri)

The emperor penguin is the heaviest of all the penguin species and is native to Antarctica. Emperor penguin can weigh from 49-99 pounds and reach 122 cm in length. The diet of these species consists of fish, krill, and squid. Features are black and sharp; they have bright yellow ear patches.

Adelie penguin- (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Adelie penguin is the only species to habitat on the entire coast of the Antarctic continent. These penguins are of mid-sized, being 18-28 inches in height and 7.9-13.2 pounds in weight. The tail of these species is quite longer than other penguins. Adelie penguins mainly feed on Antarctic krill, ice krill sea krill, and Antarctic silverfish.

Chinstrap penguin- (Pygoscelis Antarctica)

Chinstrap penguins are found in the shores of Antarctica and several islands of the southern Pacific Ocean. The narrow black band under its head makes it look like wearing a black helmet. These species can grow to a length of 27-30 inches and weighs up to 7.1-11.7 pounds. The face of these species is white with reddish-brown eyes, its legs and feet are pink. Small fish, krill, and shrimp is the food of chinstrap penguin.

Gentoo penguin- (Pygoscelis Papua)

Gentoo penguin is found mostly in the Falkland Islands and Saunders islands. These are the third-largest species of the penguin that can reach the height of 20-35 inches, and the maximum weight of a male Gentoo is 19 pounds. Gentoo penguin is opportunist feeders that feed on fish, krill, and crustaceans.

Little blue penguin- (eudyptula minor)

Often called as fairy penguins, the little blue penguin habitats in the southern island of New Zealand. These are the smallest species among the penguins. These little penguins grow to 12-13 inches and weigh about on average of 3.3 pounds. Fairy penguins are the only ones with blue eyes and feathers. These species hunt small clupeoid fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans.

Australian little penguin- (eudyptula novaehollandiae)

They inherit on the coast of southern Australia, Tasmania, and some areas of New Zealand. The average length of these species is 13 inch, and the average weight is 1.5 kg. The diet of little Australian penguin includes fish, arrow squid.

White flipper penguin- (eudyptula albosignata)

These small penguins are about 12 inches tall and weigh 3 pounds. It is a unique species with white marking on its flippers. They are mostly found near Christchurch, Canterbury of New Zealand. White flipper penguins feed on small shoaling fish like- pilchards, cephalopods, and anchovies.

Other than this the other living species includes-

• Magellanic penguin- (Spheniscus magellianicus)
• Humbolt penguin- (Spheniscus humbolti)
• Galapagos penguin- (Spheniscus mendiculus)
• African penguin- (Spheniscus demersus)
• Yellow-eyed penguin- (megadyptes antipodes)
• Southern rockhopper penguin- (Eudyptes chrysocome)
• Northern rockhopper penguin- (Eudyptes moseleyi)

Penguin Anatomy:

Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds; the body is designed in such a way that allows them to move quickly in water. The penguin body is covered with feathers which offer them insulating. When the penguins are on land, the flippers and the tail helps them to maintain their body balance, and when they are in the water, the fins help them to swim. The rear of the penguins is short and wedged shaped. When penguins move on snow, they slide on their bellies; this allows them to move faster and use less energy. Penguins are featured with four toes on each foot.