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Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range IUCN status and estimated population Macaroni penguin. E. chrysolophus (Brandt, J. F., 1837) Antarctic Peninsula, South America, and subantarctic islands in South Atlantic and Indian Oceans VU 6,300,000 breeding pairs [18] Royal penguin. E. schlegeli Finsch, 1876: Macquarie Island and nearby ...
The name penguin was first used in the late 16th century for the Great Auk (pictured here) and was later applied to Southern Hemisphere birds due to their resemblance, though they are unrelated. [10] The word penguin first appears in literature at the end of the 16th century as a synonym for the great auk. [11]
Magellanic penguin on Argentina's coast Skeleton of a Magellanic penguin. Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be 61–76 cm (24–30 in) tall and weigh between 2.7 and 6.5 kg (6.0 and 14.3 lb). [3] The males are larger than the females, and the weight of both drops while the parents raise their young.
Humboldt penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes or caves. In South America the Humboldt penguin is found only along the Pacific coast, and the range of the Humboldt penguin overlaps that of the Magellanic penguin on the central Chilean coast. It is vagrant in Ecuador and Colombia. [6]
Sphenisciformes (from the Latin for "wedge-shaped") is the taxonomic order to which the penguins belong. BirdLife International has assessed 18 species. 16 (89% of total species) have had their population estimated: those missing are the king and little penguins , both of which have been assessed as being of least concern .
Emperor penguins are also known to dive to depths of more than 1,640 feet (500 meters) making them the deepest diving birds in the world, where they are able to hold their breath for up to 20 ...
Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) are among the smaller species of penguin. After reaching full growth, they are about 20 inches or 50 centimetres in height. [ 1 ] Males and females cannot be distinguished visually, so a DNA test is conducted by taking a feather from the bird to determine its gender. [ 2 ]
The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. King penguins mainly eat lanternfish , squid , and krill .