Emperor penguins are truly amazing birds. They not only survive the Antarctic winter, but they are capable of breeding during the worst weather conditions on earth.
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Physical Features
Adult emperors have black heads with a black chin. Yellow tear-shapes, called auricular patches, are located on the sides of their necks and narrow down, as in a bottleneck, at the top of their shoulders. The yellow coloration then blends into a paler yellow at their chest on their otherwise white underside. They have a pink-orange band on a mostly black bill and their feet are black.
When they hatch the chick has gray skin and no feathers and is totally dependent on the adults for warmth. Their gray down fills in over the course of a few weeks with a black crown that extends from their bill to the back of their head and the sides of their neck, with white cheeks and chin. As the chick grows, the black pattern extends to their entire back. When immature, emperors are gray-blue while the adults are black, and their auricular patches as well as their undersides are white. Their bills are black with little white.
As the largest penguins now living, the adults are 40–52 inches in height, taller than most people’s waistlines. It is important to understand that these birds do not eat three meals a day and their metabolisms compensate by allowing them to lose tremendous amounts of weight during the harsh breeding season with no overall harm to most successful breeders. A male can start the breeding season at 83 pounds and end it at a little over 50 pounds—120 days after the breeding season begins when they first get to forage again. Females, considerably smaller to begin with at around 63 pounds, drop 22% of their weight during breeding to 50 pounds.
Adult emperors have black heads with a black chin. Yellow tear-shapes, called auricular patches, are located on the sides of their necks and narrow down, as in a bottleneck, at the top of their shoulders. The yellow coloration then blends into a paler yellow at their chest on their otherwise white underside. They have a pink-orange band on a mostly black bill and their feet are black.
When they hatch the chick has gray skin and no feathers and is totally dependent on the adults for warmth. Their gray down fills in over the course of a few weeks with a black crown that extends from their bill to the back of their head and the sides of their neck, with white cheeks and chin. As the chick grows, the black pattern extends to their entire back. When immature, emperors are gray-blue while the adults are black, and their auricular patches as well as their undersides are white. Their bills are black with little white.
As the largest penguins now living, the adults are 40–52 inches in height, taller than most people’s waistlines. It is important to understand that these birds do not eat three meals a day and their metabolisms compensate by allowing them to lose tremendous amounts of weight during the harsh breeding season with no overall harm to most successful breeders. A male can start the breeding season at 83 pounds and end it at a little over 50 pounds—120 days after the breeding season begins when they first get to forage again. Females, considerably smaller to begin with at around 63 pounds, drop 22% of their weight during breeding to 50 pounds.
Where do they Live?
The most successful colonies are those that are on stable pack ice in bays between islands that are somewhat sheltered from the biting winter winds by icebergs. However, there are other cases that are successful, such as the emperor colony by Taylor Glacier in Kemp Land in east Antarctica that is situated in a cirque, the concave mountaintop leftover of an ice cap.The only place you will find the Emperor Penguin is in Antarctica. A great deal of research has been conducted to find out how they are able to survive in such harsh conditions. What we have found out is that they are able to manipulate their bodies in order to adapt to the environment. They can be completely functional at levels with low oxygen, they have solid bones, they can slow down their metabolism when necessary, and even shut down all non-essential bodily functions for a period of time.
The most successful colonies are those that are on stable pack ice in bays between islands that are somewhat sheltered from the biting winter winds by icebergs. However, there are other cases that are successful, such as the emperor colony by Taylor Glacier in Kemp Land in east Antarctica that is situated in a cirque, the concave mountaintop leftover of an ice cap.The only place you will find the Emperor Penguin is in Antarctica. A great deal of research has been conducted to find out how they are able to survive in such harsh conditions. What we have found out is that they are able to manipulate their bodies in order to adapt to the environment. They can be completely functional at levels with low oxygen, they have solid bones, they can slow down their metabolism when necessary, and even shut down all non-essential bodily functions for a period of time.
Breeding
The breeding cycle begins in autumn (around April) when the sea ice reforms and gets thick enough to support the thousands of penguins. The birds return year after year to the same location. The first thing they have to do is relocate their mates or, if they haven't bred before, find one! At this time there is a lot of activity in the colony with many penguins wandering around, singing their songs and performing courtship behaviors. These include a wide range of displays ranging from head bowing to head swinging and walking around in a most impressive manner.
Once a pair has (re-)formed and decides to breed they copulate and eventually the female produces a single egg. Emperor penguins breed on the sea-ice in bitterly cold conditions. There are no materials to build nests from but the eggs have to be kept warm until they hatch. So the female who leaves the colony over winter gives the egg to her partner who carefully puts it on his feet and covers it with a skin fold. In this way the egg is kept toasty warm at about 38°C while the outside temperatures can drop well below −35°C.When the females finally return to the colony in July the males have lost nearly half their body mass and look quite skinny. The females on the other hand having been out hunting all this time are big and beautiful. Males and females recognise each other by their calls and it is remarkable how quickly a female can locate her mate among thousands of penguins when she comes home. She has to work quite hard to convince her mate to let her have the egg back or hand over the tiny chick. He has been looking after the egg all winter and although very hungry he is most reluctant to let it go.The chicks are very small when they hatch weighing only about 150–200 g (adult penguins weigh 22–30 kg at this time of year). They only have a very thin layer of down and are not yet able to regulate their own body temperature. It takes about 50 days to develop that ability. Until then it is up to the parents to keep the chicks warm. Since they are still very small they fit comfortably in the brood pouch.
The breeding cycle begins in autumn (around April) when the sea ice reforms and gets thick enough to support the thousands of penguins. The birds return year after year to the same location. The first thing they have to do is relocate their mates or, if they haven't bred before, find one! At this time there is a lot of activity in the colony with many penguins wandering around, singing their songs and performing courtship behaviors. These include a wide range of displays ranging from head bowing to head swinging and walking around in a most impressive manner.
Once a pair has (re-)formed and decides to breed they copulate and eventually the female produces a single egg. Emperor penguins breed on the sea-ice in bitterly cold conditions. There are no materials to build nests from but the eggs have to be kept warm until they hatch. So the female who leaves the colony over winter gives the egg to her partner who carefully puts it on his feet and covers it with a skin fold. In this way the egg is kept toasty warm at about 38°C while the outside temperatures can drop well below −35°C.When the females finally return to the colony in July the males have lost nearly half their body mass and look quite skinny. The females on the other hand having been out hunting all this time are big and beautiful. Males and females recognise each other by their calls and it is remarkable how quickly a female can locate her mate among thousands of penguins when she comes home. She has to work quite hard to convince her mate to let her have the egg back or hand over the tiny chick. He has been looking after the egg all winter and although very hungry he is most reluctant to let it go.The chicks are very small when they hatch weighing only about 150–200 g (adult penguins weigh 22–30 kg at this time of year). They only have a very thin layer of down and are not yet able to regulate their own body temperature. It takes about 50 days to develop that ability. Until then it is up to the parents to keep the chicks warm. Since they are still very small they fit comfortably in the brood pouch.
How They Survive in the Severe Conditions?
Penguins are one of the archetypal animals of cold climates, they survive in the coldest and harshest climates on earth where they can often be the only animals there. How do they do this? especially as they are warm blooded animals that cannot let their own body temperature fall. To survive in this severely frigid climate, emperor penguins are equipped with several special adaptations. Four layers of scale-like feathers protect them from icy winds and provide a waterproof coat. The penguins can store large amounts of fat which insulates their bodies while also serving as a long-lasting energy source.
They have small bills and flippers, which helps to conserve heat, and special nasal chambers that minimize the heat normally emitted through exhalation. Because their arteries and veins are situated close together, emperor penguins have the ability to recycle their own body heat. With this system, blood is cooled down on the way to the penguins’ extremities and warmed up on the way back to the heart.
Penguins are one of the archetypal animals of cold climates, they survive in the coldest and harshest climates on earth where they can often be the only animals there. How do they do this? especially as they are warm blooded animals that cannot let their own body temperature fall. To survive in this severely frigid climate, emperor penguins are equipped with several special adaptations. Four layers of scale-like feathers protect them from icy winds and provide a waterproof coat. The penguins can store large amounts of fat which insulates their bodies while also serving as a long-lasting energy source.
They have small bills and flippers, which helps to conserve heat, and special nasal chambers that minimize the heat normally emitted through exhalation. Because their arteries and veins are situated close together, emperor penguins have the ability to recycle their own body heat. With this system, blood is cooled down on the way to the penguins’ extremities and warmed up on the way back to the heart.
what do they eat?
Due to the large size of the Emperor Penguins, they consume more food than the other species. Their diet consists of all sizes of fish, krill, squid, and crustaceans. Emperor Penguins can dive much further than any other penguin. They have been known to submerge themselves more than 1,755 feet when necessary to find food, although more regular dives reach more 800 feet. They can remain under water for almost 18 minutes which is also longer than any other type of penguin.
Due to the large size of the Emperor Penguins, they consume more food than the other species. Their diet consists of all sizes of fish, krill, squid, and crustaceans. Emperor Penguins can dive much further than any other penguin. They have been known to submerge themselves more than 1,755 feet when necessary to find food, although more regular dives reach more 800 feet. They can remain under water for almost 18 minutes which is also longer than any other type of penguin.