Also check out this article I wrote on why penguins slide on their bellies. Without their feet, they would not be able to move at all on land and in water, they will be unable to swim well. It is quite amusing that something that might seem as minuscule as feet of Penguins being webbed can contribute so much to their survival.
But you can easily understand this because you know that nature always finds a way to survive and thrive. This is evident in the other features that Penguins have that helped them survive and thrive. These features include:. Penguins have so adapted to live on thriving as aquatic birds that Virtually everything about them helps the aquatic nature of living.
From what they eat to the color of their feathers, the shape of their body to the type of feet they have, even how they congregate. As already stated every part of a Penguin has evolved to help it be better at surviving and thriving as aquatic birds. Penguins have counter shaded dark and white plumage feathers.
All adult penguins have dark backs and white or yellowish—white fronts. Their dark backs are usually black. However, their beaks, necks, and feet may be brightly colored.
Some penguins also have colorful crests of plumage on their heads. The colors of the penguins help them blend in with their surroundings. A school of fish swimming above a penguin may not even notice the bird. That's because the penguin's dark back blends in with the dark waters below it.
An enemy or prey may not see a penguin swimming above it either. That's because the penguin's pale belly blends with the bright light of the sky or ice above it. The Penguin feathers, also called as plumage, are waterproof.
They keep penguins dry underneath, even while the birds are swimming. If penguins don't keep their plumage in very good shape, they don't stay waterproof. So penguins spend several hours a day preening, or caring for their plumage. Penguins use their beaks, flippers, and feet to preen. For extra protection in the water, penguins spread oil on their plumage.
The oil comes from a special gland near their tail plumage. Penguins shed their plumage because they become worn and damaged. When penguins shed their old plumage and grow new ones, it is called molting. Penguins molt once a year.
Penguins always molt on land or on ice. Until they grow new waterproof coats, they can't go back into the water. And the water is where they need to go to find food. Sometimes penguins might have to go for more than a month without food while they molt.
To prepare, penguins eat as much as they can during the weeks leading up to the molt. Eating so much helps them add fat to their bodies. The penguins live off the fat while they grow new plumage. Tropical animals with more variable body temperatures such as reptiles and amphibians can warm up by basking in the sun if they cool down and they never cool down that much.
A large bigger than a small insect Antarctic animal will never get enough energy from the surroundings to become active if it allows itself to cool, so they have to stay warm to be active. Warm blooded animals in cold climates are pretty large. Even the smallest Antarctic birds are on the large side and the smallest Antarctic penguin, the Rockhopper is 2.
The Adelie and Emperor penguins of the deep south are larger still. Adult weights are 5kg for the Adelie and 30kg for the Emperor — a similar size to an overweight 10 year old child, but with a man—sized chest measurement. The larger the animal, the smaller the surface-area volume ratio and hence a less relative area of its body is exposed. This helps the penguins to stay warm. Penguins are endotherms , which means that they have the ability to keep their body temperature at constant levels even when the surrounding temperature is very different.
To regulate the body temperature they need to prevent the heat loss to the surroundings and insulate themselves well. Penguins can minimize heat loss by keeping the outer surface of their plumage below the temperature of the surrounding air. Scientists have discovered the unusual thermal properties of the penguin's plumage while studying the birds in their natural environment using infrared imaging. The Obama Presidency Web 2. Britannica Blog Archive by Year.
Britannica on Twitter. In case you're mulling the relative ranking of organelles. RT MelissaPetru : Writing about organelles. Which shark do you want to see? Lauren Bacall, - Select Britannica Videos. This traps in body heat and makes the penguin waterproof. Penguins live in large groups called colonies, but pairs form strong bonds and both parents look after the chicks together.
Penguins can dive underwater more than times each day. The yellow markings are due to special pigments substances producing different colors in the feathers. These pigments are called carotenoids. The gray-white pattern of a penguin may disguise it from predators when it is swimming in the water.
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