Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Quick facts about Adélie penguin

Name:	Adélie penguin
Scientific Name:	Pygoscelis adeliae
Other Names:	Adelie Penguin, Adlie Penguin, Adélie penguin
Habitat:	iceberg in Antarctica
Size
Width:	7 - 13 lbs.
Height:	2.5 Feet
Wingspan:	2 feet
Food (Prey):	Krill, Crnivore, Fish, mollusks, aquatic crustaceans
Nesting:
Voice:	Adults: arr-rar-rar-rar-raah, kug-gu-gu-gu-gaaaa
Social Behaviour:	Gregarious
Migration:
Lifespan:	10–15 years or more
IUCN Conservation Status:	Least Concern

An adelie penguin is rarely alone. At sea it feeds in flocks under pack ice; in breedingseasons, it treks along bustling routes between the water and its sprawling colonies.

Habitat

The Adelie Penguin spends nearly all its time at sea in pack ice that surrounds Antarctica. When it comes ashore to breed, it lands on barren beaches and rocky coastal slopes to gather in huge numbers. After breeding, the penguin then returns to sea, swimming in groups to new feeding grounds as winter ice begins to push farther north.

Behaviour

The Adelie Penguin is an excellent swimmer, but is clumsy on land. With its legs set so far back on its body, it has to walk upright and can manage only an awkward, almost comical, shuffle on its short, stiff legs. It hops nimbly over rocks and other low obstacles, but drops onto its breast at the top of ice slopes and toboggans over the ice — making better progress than by walking.

The Adelie Penguin stays close to Antarctica’s pack ice to feed, since krill (tiny crustaceans that form its main food) eat the algae that grow on the underside of the ice. Diving to 65 ft for krill and other prey, the penguin can remain underwater for up to seven minutes. It catches faster-swimming prey — squid and fish — by putting on sudden spurts of speed while cruising along underwater

Each feeding trip may last four hours or more; frequently, the Adelie feeds at night, taking advantage of the nightly migration of krill and squid to the surface. Flocks also travel many miles around the fringes of the ice to exploit the best feeding grounds.

Voice

Adelie penguin colonies are very noisy places. The main calls given by adults are a loud, throbbing bray arr-rar-rar-rar-raah, often followed by a reverberating kug-gu-gu-gu-gaaaa. The contact call given on land, ice and sea is sharp bark aark.

Food

Crustaceans (amphipods and krill)
Crnivore (Piscivore , Eats non-insect arthropods, Molluscivore )
Fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans; other marine invertebrates