Chinstrap Penguins

Chinstrap penguins have a fine line of black feathers under their white chin. The Adelie Penguins number 2.6 million pairs, world-wide with bright blue eyes. They are distinctively black and white and breed further south than any other species. PENGUINS

King penguins stand 30 inches tall and are the largest and most brightly colored of the species. Their breeding or incubation cycle can last up to 14 months.

Gentoo penguins have an elegant white strap that runs across their heads from one eye to the other and are widely dispersed around the islands.

Rockhopper penguins are the smallest of the breeding penguins, 13 inches tall and nest on rocky coastlines, making astonishing climbs (as we observed) at West Pointy Island.

Macaroni penguins look quite similar to the Rockhoppers, but are larger and have more flamboyant yellow crests.

Magellanic penguins live in colonies that nest in burrows dug into the peaty soil and which I photographed marching into the water at Bluff Cove Farm, Falkland Islands.

The Gentoo Penguins are the most numerous of all penguin species in Antarctica and can reach a height of 36 inches and weighing up to 19 pounds - making them the largest penguins outside of the two giant species, the Emperor Penguin and the King Penguin. They are the fastest swimmers reaching speeds of up to 36 km/hr. There are over 300,000 breeding pairs in Antarctica. Nests are usually made fro a roughly circular pile of stones and can be quite large, 20 cm high and 25 cm in diameter. Two eggs are laid, both weighting around 500 grams each. The parents share incubation, changing duty daily. They eggs hatch after 35 days with the chicks remaining in the nests or about 30 days. The chicks molt into sub-adult plumage and go out to sea at about 80-100 days. Gentoos live mainly on crustaceans such as krill, on fish and squid. Their call is reminiscent of the sound of a donkey’s “he-haw.”

The Adelie Penguins number 2.6 million pairs, world-wide with bright blue eyes. They are distinctively – simply black and white and breeds further south than any other species.

Chinstrap penguins have a fine line of black feathers under their white chin.