Main Page | General Info | History Info | Largest Penguins | Stiff-Tailed Penguins | Crested Penguins
Tropical Penguins | Miscellaneous Penguins | Sign Guestbook | View Guestbook | Fun and Games

The Adelie Penguin Height: 2 1/2 feet Weight: 11 - 13 lbs Range: Coastal Antarctica Breeding Season: starts in October Nesting: 2 eggs incubated by both parents, 35-37 days Fledgling stage: 7 weeks

The Adelie penguin stands about 2 1/2 feet tall and weighs about 13 lbs. Like all of the Stiff Tailed group, the Adelie has a long (compared to other penguins) sweeping tail, and a white ring around it's eyes. The Adelie is named after the wife of the French explorer Dumont d'Urville (so I guess that means he discovered them, since he got to name them after his wife).

The Adelie penguin is one of the two species of penguins which are truly polar (the other is the Emperor). The Adelie lives at sea, on the pack ice, during the winter and nests along the Antarctic coastline in summer.

In October the Antarctic spring is beginning, and it is light almost 24 hours a day. The Adelies begin arriving at the rookeries. They return to the same rookery (and often the same spot in the rookery) year after year. The males establish their territory (about one square meter) and begin attracting a mate, with various calls and positions. Usually the mate he attracts is the same one every year. The courting Adelies are very vocal and the rookery is a very noisy place.

Once courtship is over the penguins begin building their nests using small stones. The nests are often located on steep slopes, sometimes as much as 500 feet above sea level (and may be a mile or more from shore). The stones make the nesting area level and keep the eggs from rolling away. They also help insulate the eggs from the frozen ground. Since the right kind of stones are always in short supply, there's a lot of stealing between neighbors and fighting over stones.

They spend about a month courting, nest building and mating. Then the female lays 2 pale green eggs, which the male incubates while she goes off to sea to feed. She returns after 10-14 days and takes over incubation so the male can feed (by now he has been fasting for 40 or more days and has lost about 30% of his body weight). They switch off again before the eggs hatch.

At first the chicks are weak and their down is very thin. One parent stays with the chicks at all times, protecting them from Skuas (gull-like birds that steal (and eat) eggs and young chicks), keeping them warm and feeding them when they cry. The other parent goes to sea to find food. By 3 weeks of age, the chick's down is thicker and the chicks are large enough that they're no longer easy prey for the skuas. The chicks gather into creches. They huddle together for warmth and protection. This allows both parents to hunt for food at the same time. The rapidly growing chicks require more and more food, and keep both parents busy feeding them.

By the 6th week, the chick's down is being replaced by their adult feathers, and by March the chicks are 8 weeks old, fully feathered and on their own. The life of the young Adelie chick is hazardous and up to 60% of them do not live to reach this stage. Now they must set out to sea for the first time. Many chicks are lost to leopard seals when they enter the water for the first time, but most survive.

| Top | Bottom | Main Page |

The Chinstrap Penguin Height: 27 inches Weight: 8 - 14 lbs. Range: Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands Breeding Season: late Oct. - Feb. Nesting: 2 eggs incubated by both parents, 35 days. Fledgling stage: 8 weeks

The Chinstrap penguin is the smallest of the Stiff Tailed penguins, standing 27 inches tall and weighing about 10 pounds. The Chinstrap gets its name from the narrow black line across its white throat. They are also sometimes called the Ringed or Bearded penguins. They are very aggressive and territorial.

The breeding range of the Chinstrap penguins includes the Antarctic Peninsula and the islands of Scotia Arc. There is also a small colony on South Georgia Island to the north. The breeding range of the Chinstrap overlaps that of the Adelie (and the Gentoo) and in some cases the Chinstrap may use the same rookeries that the Adelie used. Breeding season for the Chinstrap begins in late October. Breeding Chinstraps arrive on shore several weeks later than the Adelie.

The Chinstrap penguin colonies tend to be very large, with populations in the millions. They are the most numerous of all the penguin species. One colony has been estimated to have 14 million birds. The Chinstrap rookery is often located on steep slopes, in very rough terrain.

The female lays 2 eggs (usually 2 - 4 weeks later than the Adelies and Gentoos in the same area). Since the Chinstrap penguin chicks grow faster, they usually fledge about the same time as the Adelie and Gentoo chicks. The newly hatched Chinstrap chicks are a silver-gray color, but become brownish as they get older. Unlike the other stiff-tailed penguins, the Chinstrap chicks do not form creches. By February the chicks are on their own and by March the adults have finished their molting and left the colony to spend the winter on the pack ice.

| Top | Bottom | Main Page |

The Gentoo Penguin Height: 32 inches Weight: 12 - 19 lbs Range: Antarctic Peninsula and sub Antarctic islands Breeding Season: varies by location, Sept. - March Nesting: 2 or 3 eggs incubated by both parents, 35 -37 days Fledgling stage: 8 weeks

The Gentoo penguin is the third largest of the penguin species, standing 32 inches tall and weighing around 15 pounds. They have large, distinctive white patches over their eyes. One book mentioned that there were two subspecies, but gave no details. Gentoo penguins have a timid and docile disposition.

The distribution of Gentoo penguins is very wide spread, and they range farther north than the other two species of stiff tailed penguins. They are not migratory and stay near their breeding grounds all year long. Although the Gentoo penguin's breeding range includes the Antarctic Peninsula, they are more commonly found on the Sub-Antarctic islands to the north. The breeding time varies according to location, with the northern most penguins laying eggs in September and the colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula laying eggs in November.

Gentoo rookeries are usually located on level or gently sloping terrain, and may be located a mile or more inland. The Gentoo is not nearly as colonial as the Adelie penguin, and although colonies may consist of thousands of birds, they are more likely to be smaller and scattered. Gentoos don't always return to the same rookery, and in fact, sometimes, the whole colony will move to a new site.

Depending on the terrain, nests may be built of rocks, twigs, moss, or other vegetation. Like the Adelie penguin, Gentoos sometimes steal nesting material from each other. Gentoo nests are usually larger than Adelie nests. Gentoo penguins like to build their nests on a small clump of vegetation, or near a small bush.

The books I read didn't go into much detail about egg incubation and chick rearing, except to say that the Gentoo habits were very similar to those of the Adelie penguin. Since they raise 2 (sometimes 3) chicks, both parents must be kept pretty busy feeding them after they hatch. The chicks are on their own after 8 weeks.