King Penguin - description, habitat, interesting facts

King penguins are understood to be quite large individuals, living preferably in the Antarctic regions of the globe and nearby territories. Usually these flightless birds are found in areas with a sufficient amount of food. According to external data, the penguins are very beautiful and large, a distinctive feature is the orange hue in the head area.

Description

1. The hull penguins are dense, downed. The body format is rectangular. Birds differ in weight category, their body weight can reach 15 kg. and even more. Such fatness is due to the territory of residence.
2. As for growth, it is also not small. Representatives of the royal subspecies grow to 1 m in height, the growth of individual individuals exceeds 110 cm.
3. Birds are characterized by a large amount of subcutaneous fat, it helps to survive with a strong cooling. Individuals can be without food for a long time if there is none.
4. The head is black, orange-yellow blotches are clearly visible in the lateral parts. According to the format, these spots are oval, like a spoon. The beak is pointed, fins with a back are pigmented in gray with an ash tint.

Breeding

1. King penguins prefer to build dwellings in colonies, for this purpose they choose solid soil. Typically, housing is located on a rocky terrain. The male, ready for mating, begins to walk back and forth through the colony and shake his head. Thus, the females see that this handsome man has reached puberty and is in search of a companion. From time to time, exclamations are heard from the male individual, urging the ladies to come closer.
2. From time to time, clashes may occur between males who have chosen to care for one female. They begin to beat their wings, after which the female individual makes a choice in favor of the winner. Then a well-coordinated couple starts dancing, the family spins and lifts their heads up with loud exclamations. It looks impressive.
3. From the side, watching the penguin dances, we can conclude that they are hugging. Birds neatly, with all tenderness, press their wings, lay their heads on their shoulders and spin. After the dance is completed, the female falls to the rock, inviting the satellite to join. From this moment, pairing begins, which lasts 5 seconds. This can continue many times until both individuals are satisfied.
4. Masonry is carried out at the beginning or middle of winter, while the female gives only 1 egg. She keeps the future offspring on her feet, covering with a fold of fat from the abdominal cavity. After this, incubation is carried out by both sexes, the male also enters the matter.
5. A distinctive feature is that the chicks from the early clutches survive, and the later generation dies due to cold and rivalry. If a chick from a late clutch died at the parents, the next season penguins start mating earlier.

Lifestyle

1. Individuals of the group under discussion prefer to get their food colonially. The older generation begins to teach young animals everything that they have accumulated over many years. Birds dive to a depth of 15 m, they find food there.
2. Penguins eat once in 2 weeks. All the rest of the time they are heated by subcutaneous fat from early reserves. During the hour of hunting, the bird can stay under water for a duration of 10 to 40 minutes. While individuals are hungry (14 days), they lose weight almost twice. They drink brackish or fresh water, and also eat snow.
3. By the time of puberty, penguins become unbearable in terms of character. They cannot get along with each other, so frequent skirmishes lead to a reduction in numbers.Usually skirmishes occur due to territorial disposition, each couple wants to take a better plot. As a rule, from a couple of thousand to half a million birds gather on a common territory.
4. Since these individuals belong to the colonial, they multiply and live accordingly. Most of their lives are in the water, swim fast, dive deep. They walk slowly, can move on the abdominal part, as on a sled. The tail in this case acts as a rudder, as well as the wings.

Nutrition

1. The diet of these individuals is mainly based on plankton and some small marine animals. Food of this kind is present in large quantities near the oceanic islands.
2. It can often be replaced that some penguins often regale with small fish and crustaceans. In the summer, such living creatures abound in Antarctica.
3. More than 90% of the diet of the individuals in question is fish. Everything else is plankton and crustaceans. During the breeding season, penguins eat up to 7 thousand tons of fish per season. Moreover, half could go to the food needs of people.

Interesting Facts

1. The main fear of all penguins are killer whales. It is these predators that constantly hunt the individuals in question. If the penguins do not know if there are killer whales nearby, they can be crowded for a long time on the edge of the ice. This happens until the bravest one decides to jump into the water. After that, the rest jump.
2. It is worth mentioning separately that not all representatives of penguins live exclusively in the polar latitudes. There are representatives who feel great in the Galapagos Islands. The average temperature in the year is about +19 degrees.
3. The largest representatives of this genus are emperor penguins. Almost all year they live in Antarctica. In addition, due to the thick layer of fat, such individuals do not really freeze in ice water.
4. Individuals that predominantly live in polar latitudes can withstand temperatures up to -62 degrees. At the same time, penguins do not freeze their paws at all. This is due to the fact that a minimal number of nerve endings is concentrated in them.
5. King penguins are monogamous. In the mating season, they are divided into pairs and remain faithful to each other until the end of life. In addition, during nesting, individuals show a special awe to their eggs.
6. It remains interesting that the considered individuals are capable of speeds under water up to 30 km / h. In addition, penguins funny move on how many cover, they lie on their stomach and glide over the ice.
7. The presented individuals often hunt fish exclusively in the upper layers of water. If necessary, they can descend to a depth of 200 m. In addition, penguins are the only representatives of birds that are able to move exclusively in an upright position.
8. It is worth noting that not all penguins can be cute. Representatives of the stone species show increased aggression towards everyone who tries to approach them.

King penguins are quite interesting representatives of birds. The examined individuals change their plumage once a year. Moreover, such animals do not need fresh water. They drink sea water without any problems. The fact is that they have special glands that filter salt in the body.

Video: 10 facts about penguins