However, of the 17 species of penguins in the world, only seven can be found in Antarctica itself.
With their striking black and white coat, and distinctive waddle, the stars of the silver screen (think Happy Feet, March of the Penguins, Penguins of Madagascar, Mr Popper’s Penguins and Surf’s Up) are also stars of the icy continent.
Adelie penguin
The 2019 nature documentary file, Penguins, follows a beautiful Adelie penguin named Steve on his quest to build a nest and find a life partner. Adelie penguins spend the winter in the seas surrounding the Antarctic and the rest of the year on the many small coastal islands.
Male and female Adelie penguins are almost impossible to tell apart, and their lifestyle offers few clues – they’re particularly egalitarian, with both parents taking an equal share of the childcare.
Chinstrap Penguin
If you imagine the markings on these penguins’ head are a teeny tiny helmet, you’ll understand their name. They have a little band of black feathers that run from the black markings on top of their head, through the white underside of their chin and back up – exactly like the chinstrap of a bike helmet.
Their breeding practices could be straight from a penguin soap opera. Male chinstraps race to find the very best nests, and then wait for their mates to arrive. If a male can’t find a nest to his liking, he may try to force couples who have settled in out of their nests.
Once he has a nest, he’ll give his mate five days to show up, and then he’s moving on. If his original mate catches him with another lady however, the female penguins will fight over his affections. It’s all very dramatic.
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoos are the speedsters of the penguin world. Although they’re not strong runners, they can take off in the water: When diving, they’ve been known to reach speeds up to 35km per hour.
They spend the majority of their day hunting krill, squid and fish. They’re the third-largest penguin species and usually weigh around 5 kilograms.
King Penguin
King penguins look similarly to emperor penguins, with colourful plumage accentuating their black-and-white pattern.
It’s worth noting, however, that the black of the king penguin is not as dark as other penguin species, and could be described as dark grey. They are the second-largest species of penguin. King penguins are found much further north than emperor penguins.
Macaroni Penguin
If emperor and king penguins are classy, macaroni penguins are eccentric. Small and stout, their most recognizable feature is their bright, spiky, orange eyebrows. These eyebrow-like markings (called crests) are actually fairly common in the penguin world, but they’re usually a light yellow color.
There are plenty of macaroni penguins around – in fact, there is reason to believe they are the most abundant penguin species.
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper penguins look as if they saw the macaroni penguins’ crests and thought, “How can I make that less dignified?” In addition to bright yellow eyebrow markings, they have spiky crests that extend onto the crowns of their heads.
These penguins get their names from their distinct method of moving around. As the name suggests, they like to hop from stone to stone in the rockier parts of the northern Antarctic islands.
Emperor Penguin
Emperor penguins are the largest, boldest and most well-dressed of all penguin species. the stars of the French documentary, March of the Penguins, they’re impressively huge, reaching heights of around 1.2m and weighing up to 45 kilograms. This leaves them towering over other penguins. They also have the most picturesque markings.
They have bright yellow and orange plumage along their heads, necks and chests. These penguin behemoths use community to get through the Antarctic cold. They huddle together for warmth and take shifts standing on the outside of the huddle.
This way, everyone has a fair chance to be at the warmest spot deep inside. The most interesting thing about emperor penguins, however, is their breeding habits. They breed entirely on sea ice, and most emperor penguins never actually step foot on land.
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