What is A Penguin?
Penguins are birds that live in the water and on land. They cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers. They have webbed feet and short wings, which they use for swimming. There are several kinds of penguins. They love in both warm and cold climates, but only in waters south of the equator.
Penguins spend most of their lives in the oceans. They live on the land only when laying their eggs and raising their young. Penguins are sociable animals and live and play together. They nest in colonies called rookeries. Some of these rookeries have as many as million birds.
Penguins "Fly" only under water. Penguins propel themselves through the water with flying movements of their flippers. While many birds are lightweight so they can fly, penguins are heavy so they can swim and dive for food. A penguins wings are paddle like flippers. Their legs and webbed feet are used as rudders, for steering.
What do penguins eat?
Penguins eat mostly squids, fish, and krill. Krill are small crustaceans-relatives of shrimps, crabs, and lobsters. Penguins feed at sea. They catch prey with their strong bills and swallow it whole. How do penguins survive in the ocean?
All penguins are dark on their back and white on their chests. Their white belly make the penguin hard to see from underneath, camouflaging it from both predators and prey in the water. The dark back blends in with the dark waters of the ocean when viewed from above, making the penguin hard to spot by a predator looking down. On the other hand, if a hungry killer whale or leopard seal approaches from underneath, the penguins' white belly makes it almost invisible against the sunny surface of the sea.
Where Do Penguins Live?
Don't look for penguins in the Arctic! The Earth is divided in half by the equator. All 17 species of penguins live south of the equator. Penguins don't need to live on ice. They need to live near an ocean with cold water