King penguin

Aptenodytes patagonicus · The king penguin is the second largest penguin species, living and breeding on subantarctic islands such as South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.

King penguin
Photo: Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
King penguin
Photo: Isiwal/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0
King penguin
Photo: Liam Quinn from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderSphenisciformes
FamilySpheniscidae
GenusAptenodytes
SpeciesAptenodytes patagonicus

Where it lives

Subantarctic islands such as South Georgia, Crozet and Kerguelen.

Fun facts

  • On land, king penguins sometimes slide over the ice on their bellies, which is called tobogganing, pushing with their feet and flippers.
  • King penguins balance their egg on their feet and keep it warm in a brood pouch, and the chick later rides on its parents' feet too.
  • A king penguin chick takes 14–16 months before it is ready to go to sea, much longer than the chicks of smaller penguins.
  • King penguins can detect smells drifting in the air from other penguins' feathers and droppings, which may help them sense their colonies.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).