Fact of life

Reading and enjoying these following facts about amazing animal facts: Penguins facts

• Emperor Penguins often huddle together to keep warm in the cold temperatures of Antarctica.
• King Penguins are the second largest penguin specie. They have four layers of feathers to help keep them warm on the cold subantarctic islands where they breed.

• Chinstrap Penguins get their name from the thin black band under their head. At times it looks like they’re wearing a black helmet, which might be useful as they’re considered the most aggressive type of penguin.
• Crested penguins have yellow crests, as well as red bills and eyes.
• Yellow eyed penguins (or Hoiho) are endangered penguins native to New Zealand. Their population is believed to be around 4000.
• Little Blue Penguins are the smallest type of penguin, averaging around 33 cm (13 in) in height.
• Penguin’s black and white plumage serves as camouflage while swimming. The black plumage on their back is hard to see from above, while the white plumage on their front looks like the sun reflecting off the surface of the water when seen from below.  

• Penguins spend several hours a day preening or caring for their feathers. If penguins don’t keep them well maintained, their feathers would not stay waterproof. For extra protection, penguins spread oil on their feathers. The oil comes from a special gland near their tail feathers.Unlike most birds, penguins molt all their feather at once
• Penguins molt, or lose their feathers, once a year. They always molt on land or ice and until they grow new waterproof coats, they are unable to go into the water. Molting may take weeks, and most penguins lose about half their body weight during this time.
• All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, from Antarctica to the warmer waters of the Galapagos Islands near the equator. They can be found on every continent in the Southern Hemisphere. No penguins live at the North Pole.
• The penguin with the highest number of species is the Macaroni Penguin, with approximately 11,654,000 pairs.
• Penguin nesting areas are called “rookeries” and may contain thousands of pairs of birds. Each penguin has a distinct call, which allows individual penguins to find their mates and chicks even in the largest groups.