Class
Birds
Range
They are found on Antarctica.
Habitat
They live along the coasts of Antarctica and in the water.
Body Traits
The Emperor is the largest penguin at 4 ft tall. They can weigh up to 100 pounds. They have flipper-like wings for swimming. Males and females look alike, with a bluish grey back and head, large white and yellow ear patches and a white belly and pale yellow breast.
Habits
They can dive to more than 700 feet and stay under water for 20 minutes! Male Emperors can’t eat while they protect the egg for 9 weeks (incubation period) and can lose 1/3 of all their weight during that time. The males all huddle together to stay warm. After the female comes back to take over feeding the hatched chick, the male then travels up to 60 miles to find food. They are hunted by leopard seals and killer whales.
Diet
They eat fish and squid.
Reproduction
They breed during the dark Antarctic winter, going to “rookeries” in April and May. They don’t build nests. The female lays one egg and the male puts the egg on top of his feet and covers it with a warm fold of skin called the “brood patch.” The female then leaves to travel over the ice to open sea to feed. The male stays to hatch (incubate) the egg. About 2 months later, the female comes back to feed and raise the new chick.
Citing This Reference
CITING RESEARCH REFERENCES
When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).
When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access <URL>.
All text on Exploring Nature was written by author, Sheri Amsel
Here is an example of citing this page:
Amsel, Sheri. “Aves.” Penguin (Emperor). Exploring Nature Educational Resource. © 2005 - 2010. September 2, 2010. <http://exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=43&detID=806>
- Download Hi-Res Color Diagram
