Page 384 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

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ORDER SPHENISCIFORMES
King Penguin

Aptenodytes patagonicus
HEIGHT 33 / 2 –37 / 2 in
1
1
(85–95 cm)
WEIGHT 26–31 lb
(12–14 kg)
HABITAT Rocky coasts,
open ocean
DISTRIBUTION Southern Ocean, subantarctic islands
including Falkland Islands
This is the largest penguin found on
shores outside Antarctica. Like its close
relative the emperor penguin, it has
a blue-black body with a white chest
and conspicuous, yellow-orange
markings on its head. Males and
females look identical, and they share
the task of incubating the single egg.
Instead of building a nest, they cradle
the egg on their broad webbed feet,
where it is kept warm by a flap of
skin. Their bodies are protected from
the cold by short, densely-packed
feathers and a thick layer of blubber.
King penguins feed on fish and squid,
diving to depths of over 650 ft (200 m)
to hunt their prey. At one time, these
birds were exploited commercially for
their blubber, oil, and feathers, but
today they are fully protected.

BREEDING OUT OF STEP
King penguins have a breeding cycle found
in no other sea bird. The cycle begins in
November—the start of the southern
summer—when the female lays her first
OCEAN LIFE Once the chick is independent, the female KING
egg. The chick takes 55 days to hatch,
then stays with its parents for 11 months.
must complete her molt before laying
again, this time in late fall. As a result,
the king penguin’s breeding cycle
takes 18 months and moves in and
PENGUIN
out of phase with the calendar year.
CHICKS