Adelie Penguin Facts
Here I have posted some of the more common Adelie Penguin facts. These include information ranging from body dimensions, habitat, diet and breeding. There are also some cool little easy to remember Adelie Penguin facts for you to check out too!!
Adelie Penguin Facts : Quick Overview
The Adelie Penguin can be found in the Antarctic and on the islands surrounding it. When it comes to the varieties of penguins in this region of the world, they are the smallest species of penguin to be found in the Antarctic. Adelie Penguins are of the stiff-tail type and have very long tail feathers that often drag on the ice/ground when they are walking.
You might see an Adelie Penguin sliding on their bellies down ice or snow covered hills and slopes. Ahh…to be a penguin!
Adelie Penguin facts to easily remember: There are 38 Adelie Penguin colonies throughout the world.
Oh, more Adelie Penguin Facts, there are 2.5 million breeding pairs known. The French explorer Admiral Durmont d’ Urville gave them their name in the early 1800s, in honor of his wife.
Adelie Penguin Facts: Height and Weight Facts
An adult Adelie Penguin is approximately 70cm (28 inches) in height when standing straight up. Adelie Penguins weigh in at about 4kg (8-9lbs).
Adelie Penguin Facts: Colors and Feathers
The Adelie Penguin has white feathers surrounding it’s eyes and it’s facial feathers often cover it’s short beak. That covered up beak is reddish in color. Their belly is white, their back and their heads are black.
Adelie Penguin Facts to remember: Adelie Penguins have red beaks with black tips and long tail feathers.
Adelie Penguin Facts: Their Habitat
Adelie Penguins live in the Antarctic. Their choice of habitat is typically the Antarctic ice pack when they are not breeding and around September or October will make their way to their rookeries (breeding and mating grounds) on the coasts. Once there they form colonies on the ice free and rocky slopes.
Adelie Penguin Facts to remember: Nesting locations are often fought over and the older Adelie Penguins prefer nests in the middle of the colony.
Adelie Penguin Facts: Diet Information
Adelie Penguins mostly eat silverfish, squid and krill.
Adelie Penguin Facts: Breeding Facts
Once Adelie Penguins arrive in their breeding location in October, they build nests of stones that they pile up. As previously said Adelie Penguins often fight over nesting locations and will go so far as to swipe stones from other penguin’s nests.
Adelie Penguin courting begins with the male calling in a guttural, loud cry. Once the mate and the gestation period passes the female Adelie Penguin will usually lay two eggs. Their eggs are brown or green.
December is the warmest month in Antarctica and this happens to be when the Adelie Penguins eggs need incubating. Unlike Emperor Penguins, Adelie Penguin males and females take turns with the eggs. While one is off feeding, the other takes over incubating. It typically takes thirty five days for an egg to hatch.
Baby Adelie Penguins will have gray furry like feathers until they age and are often quite chubby. After they are about three to four weeks old the chicks will begin to all huddle together while their parents are off to the sea to catch food. When they return with the food, it’s not uncommon and often a comical site, as the baby penguin will chase after the mother to get the food.
That’s one of the really cool Adelie Penguin Facts, the food chase!
Here’s a cool video from YouTube that shows what one of these food chases can look like:
Come on back as we are constantly adding Penguin Facts to our site and that includes Adelie Penguin Facts as well.
Posted in Adelie Penguin, Types of Penguins