The penguin is a unique bird that cannot fly, but it dives and swims excellently. This feature determined the habitat of these birds and their way of life.
In the cold …
Cold Antarctica and the western coast of South America are today considered the natural habitats of yellow-eared penguins (Latin Spheniscidae), emperor penguins - the largest in the family - live in New Zealand and southern Australia, they can also be found on Galopagos and even in Africa.
The Adélie penguins are the most numerous of all penguins living in Antarctica. Adélie hatch offspring on the islands adjacent to Antarctica when the polar summer begins. In winter, they swim between ice floes at great distances from their nests.
In South America, penguins today are most populated by islands that are geographically close to Antarctica. The macaroni and chinstrap penguins live here - small birds, the size of which reaches 60 centimeters. These floating birds rarely exceed 5 kilograms in weight, and therefore have tremendous maneuverability and speed in the water.
Constantly traveling, penguins inhabit the islands that surround Antarctica along virtually the entire perimeter.
Penguins also live on the mainland itself, but they settle so as to be as close as possible to the cold waters of the Humboldt Current. They can be found on the coast of Chile and Peru. Often, these birds are named by the name of the stream, some scientists even propose to include Humboldt penguins in the official classification, citing the fact that these penguins have external differences from those of the raptor or yellow-eared: they have a slightly spotted abdomen and striped wings, size up to sixty centimeters and weight more than four kilograms. However, this species is unlikely to survive for a long time in a changing climate, today there are no more than 20,000 penguins in Peru and Chile.
Magellanic penguins inhabited the territory of modern Argentina and the Falkland Islands. This species is listed in the Red Book. These birds nest mainly on the Patagonian coast, although they have been seen on Tierra del Fuego and even in Peru.
New Zealand is inhabited by five types of penguins:
- crested (Sanar), - yellow-eyed, - small, - antipodal (magnificent, hoiho).
The most interesting is the white-winged penguin. He lives in Canterby, New Zealand. White-winged penguins are nocturnal inhabitants, unlike their counterparts, they sleep on the shore during the day, and go to sea at night. This way of life makes them settle in caves, which they often make themselves.
The smallest penguins in the world live in Australia. They are called small. Their average height is 33 centimeters. Perhaps these are the most persistent penguins known to science. after all, they can be in the water for several weeks in a row. The special plumage protects the penguin from the cold, which does not let water through the feathers.
The penguins of South Africa, called African or black-footed, live in the reserve, their home is the Cape of Good Hope. It is noticed that the voice of the African penguin is similar to the cry of a donkey, therefore they are sometimes also called donkey penguins.
… and in the heat
It is noteworthy that penguins live even in Africa. Thus, large populations settled on the Galapagos Islands (Republic of Ecuador). During the day, they are almost constantly in the water, and when the temperature drops, towards night, they go ashore. The relief of the Galapagos Islands is uneven, usually consisting of turfs and basaltic lavas, penguins use the features of the relief for laying eggs.
