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Penguin-like. The emperor penguin is the largest penguin View images of the emperor penguin leopard seal

At the word "Antarctica" one immediately imagines endless expanses of snow and ice, snow-white plains under a dazzlingly bright blue sky. Its rich color is due to the extremely low temperatures prevailing in a harsh region. It is hard to believe that amid this icy silence life can exist. But it is, imagine! Among the few representatives arctic fauna in a place of honor is the emperor penguin. amazing creature, the largest and most beautiful among the penguin family.

Habitat

emperor penguin listed in the Red Book. Today, there are only about 300 thousand individuals of this species. This is negligible for a feathered family, so the majestic rare birds taken under the protection of the state.

For habitat, the bird prefers the southern regions of Antarctica, drifting on ice floes in northern waters. And comes out on land in mating season for mating and breeding. However, the process of hatching and raising babies takes most year, so we can say that the penguins lead sedentary life. The latest data from satellite observation state about 38 colonies of emperor birds.

Bright bird with an impressive appearance: description plus photos

The emperor penguin fully justifies its name with its external splendor. To begin with, it should be said that this is a giant among penguin species. His height is up to 120 cm and weight over 40 kg impress. There are larger copies. Although females are smaller than males, they gain body weight up to 30 kg, but still the general impression of the corpulence of birds does not change from this.

The back and wings of penguins are jet black, although there is a bluish-gray camouflage mantle on the back over the main plumage. The snow-white belly and front of the paws contrast with the black color.

A slightly yellowish tint of the belly turns into a pale yellow palette on the throat and frankly sunny on the round space on the sides of the head. There are no gender differences in coloration. Emperor penguin babies initially look like little white fluffy balls with a gray tummy and a black cap.

It was not in vain that nature gave such a color to a magnificent bird, so it protected it from the attack of predators in the water, making it as invisible as possible. The muscles of the penguins are very developed, strong. Although they cannot fly, they are excellent swimmers. So that ultra-low temperatures, snowstorms with piercing winds, and icy ocean water do not become an obstacle to the life of the imperial handsome man, he acquired the functions and structure of the body corresponding to natural conditions:

small head and limbs;
very thick subcutaneous fat;
hard short, extremely dense feather;
streamlined body;
flipper-shaped wing.

All of this is designed to minimize heat loss and keep the waterproofing as water runs down the feathers without being absorbed into it. The structure of the skeleton and the shape of the body testify to the bird as an excellent swimmer and diver.

Group hunting rules and diet

The land of the Arctic, chained in permafrost, is completely inhospitable to its inhabitants, and one should not expect generous gifts from it. Why, even meager food under meter layers of snow cannot be found. Therefore, all living in the harsh northern regions are looking for food in sea waters.

The emperor penguin prefers to forage in a group way. The bird population, as an aggressor, breaks into the fish school, causing horror and chaos, and simply grabs everything in a row that is within reach. Birds swallow small prey right under water, and larger trophies are pulled out onto the shore or the nearest ice floe and there they are torn into small pieces and eaten.

The speed of movement in the water of penguins is not too high - up to 6 km / h. But as a diver, the imperial representative of the penguin species is the undoubted leader. With good lighting sea depths he is able to dive below 30 mand linger under water for more than a quarter of an hour. The rays penetrating the water column directly affect the depth of the dive, because the reference point for birds is their eyesight, and in the dark there will be no sense in diving, all prey will calmly swim past.

Most of the day is spent on getting food. In addition to fish, the diet includes squid, krill from the crustacean family, mollusks and cephalopods.

Rules of survival and features of life

Society for emperor penguins is a natural state. They live in colonies of up to 1000 animals. For living on land, they choose sheltered from penetrating arctic winds places: huge ice growths, cliffs, hummocks. For warming, birds are grouped into large flocks, periodically changing places, the extreme ones move to the center and vice versa. After all, in the middle of a huge bird's lump, it's not just warm, it's even hot there. There is justice among bird communities.

Emperor penguin settlements must be near open waters in order to hunt. Watching the birds as they move around is very interesting. They do this not on their two legs, but by sliding on their belly and pushing off with their paws and wings, like oars.

Breeding

Preservation of the duration of the genus takes most of the year for imperial birds. Only a couple of months in total it takes the birds to hunt, the rest of the time is occupied by parental duties. Which, by the way, both females and males perform with equal responsibility.

For breeding offspring, the penguin chose a very unfavorable time - May-June. This annual segment is characterized by extremely low temperatures (below -50C) and raging winds (up to 200 km/h).). Not very reasonable, but hunting, as they say, is worse than bondage. Because of the harsh climatic conditions heirs grow slowly and are constantly exposed to danger from the weather.

For laying eggs, the emperor penguin, like any feathered one, makes a nest. Of course, in the icy desert you cannot find branches, sticks, even moss for this. But on the other hand, secluded corners away from the wind and water in a rock crevice are perfect. Or even just a recess at its foot. The bird covers the nest with stones, which, due to poverty, environment not too much either. Cunning dads have found a way out that is not too honest, but works flawlessly on females. They secretly drag stones from their relatives, demonstrating all their housekeeping and the desire to bring everything to the family.

"Kindergartens" for raising offspring prefer to arrange on coastal ice. A very smart decision. Not every predator will want to cross icy waters to feast on eggs or young birds. That's just white polar bear sea waters nothing, but fortunately it doesn't happen too often. If a breeding colony is established on the mainland, then it will be the quietest, warm place near the rocks, protected from the wind.

6 weeks after mating, the female will lay only one egg and leave it in the care of her father. She will leave to feed herself and will be absent for about 3 months. The male all this time will warm the future cub under a fold of skin on his stomach. During incubation, he loses weight by almost half, but he will never throw an egg until his mother returns. The weight of a penguin at birth is about 0.5 kg. He usually appears at the arrival of the parent. If this happens earlier, then the father feeds the newborn with juice from a special gastric gland.

The emerging chick is fed first by the mother with the caught semi-digested fish, and then both parents do it. At two months, the babies cluster in the nursery, forming flocks, and by the end of the summer, the parents stop supplying the children with provisions, and they begin an independent life.

After gaining the status of adults in chicks, a flock of penguins leaves the breeding place and goes back to the sea. But before that, they molt. The process of changing the plumage of a bird is difficult to endure. She does not eat, practically does not move and loses a lot of weight.

Interesting Emperor Penguin Facts

The bird was first described by a member of the Arctic expedition led by Bellingshausen back in the 19th century. And only a century later, researcher Scott studied the penguin in more detail and seriously on a trip to Antarctica.

Watching penguins is a very difficult task. Birds are so shy that when people approach, they drop not only egg clutches, but also helpless chicks and run away.

During the rearing of offspring from attacks of predators, up to 35% of young animals die. Birds (Antarctic skuas and giant petrels) and mammals (leopard seals and killer whales) are to blame.

Despite their low birth weight, penguin babies are very voracious. At a time, a growing chick can eat 6 kgbrought food. Parents are knocked down to feed the growing child.

The life expectancy of the emperor penguin is high, given the extremely harsh conditions of existence - 25 years. They survive well in captivity, and even breed.

Video "The life of Emperor penguin families"

emperor penguin- the largest and heaviest modern species the penguin family. On average, the height is about 122 cm, and the weight ranges between 22 and 45 kg. The head and back of the body are black, abdominal part- white, turning yellow towards the top. Like all penguins, emperor penguins cannot fly. Together with the king penguin, it belongs to the genus of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes). The specific Latin name is given in honor of the German scientist Johann Forster (1729-1798).

Appearance

Emperor penguin males reach a height of 130 cm and weigh an average of 35-40 kg, but the maximum weight of a male can reach 50 kg. Females reach 114 cm in height and 32 kg in weight. This is the largest of all modern penguins. The muscle mass of the emperor penguin is also the largest of all bird species (mainly due to the pectoral muscles). The plumage of the emperor penguin is black on the back and white on the chest, which makes it less visible to enemies in the water. Under the neck and on the cheeks they have a yellow-orange color. The chicks are covered with white or grayish-white down.

History of study

The emperor penguin was discovered by the Bellingshausen expedition of 1819-1822.

A significant contribution to the study of the emperor penguin was made by the Antarctic expedition of Robert Scott 1910-1913. when a group of three (including Adrian Wilson) went from their base at Cape Evans in McMurdo Bay to Cape Crozier, where they obtained several penguin eggs, which was important for studying the embryonic period of development of these birds.

Spreading

Of all the penguin species, the emperor penguin goes furthest south. About 300,000 emperor penguins live on ice floes around Antarctica, but migrate to the mainland to mate and incubate their eggs.

Until 2009, it was believed that there were 34 of their colonies in the world. As a result of studying satellite images of Antarctica (LandSat Image Mosaic of Antarctica), scientists found 38 traces of litter in the snow, which corresponds to 38 wintering places, that is, the same number of colonies.

Nutrition

As a sea bird, the emperor penguin hunts exclusively in the ocean. It feeds on fish, squid and krill. Emperor penguins hunt in groups. These groups swim right into the school of fish and quickly attack prey in it, pecking at everything that appears in front of them. They eat small prey right in the water, and with larger prey they must swim to the surface to butcher it. When hunting, emperor penguins cover long distances, moving at a speed of 3-6 km / h and descending to a depth of 567 meters. If necessary, they can spend up to 15 minutes under water. The more light, the deeper they dive, since their main guide when hunting is sight, not hearing or echo sounder.

Lifestyle and behavior

Emperor penguin colonies are located in natural shelters: behind cliffs and large ice floes with the obligatory presence of open water areas. The largest colonies number up to ten thousand individuals. Often emperor penguins move lying on their belly, working with their paws and wings.

In order to keep warm, emperor penguins gather in dense groups, inside which the temperature can reach +35 degrees at an ambient temperature of -20 °C. At the same time, the penguins constantly move from the edge of the group to the center and back, so that everyone is on an equal footing.

Emperor penguins spend about two months a year at sea, the rest of the time is spent on procreation.

The emperor penguin, despite its proud appearance and name, is a very cautious and even shy bird. Many attempts to ring it were unsuccessful, because when a potential danger approached, such a panic began that the penguins scattered, throwing eggs and chicks.

reproduction

Emperor penguins begin to breed in May - June, when temperatures drop below -50 ° C in their habitats, and the wind blows at speeds up to 200 km / h. In connection with such weather conditions Emperor penguin chicks develop very slowly. Emperor penguin nesting colonies are located on coastal ice, occasionally on the continent. The colonies are located in places with the most favorable microclimate, having protection from the winds blowing at this time of the year from the middle of the mainland, for example, among cliffs, glaciers or in uneven ice. But there should also be open polynyas, crevasses, or areas of ice-free sea near the colony. This is necessary for birds to feed and feed the chicks. At severe frosts penguins huddle in tight groups, unlike, for example, Adélie penguins, which keep warm in pairs in a strictly limited nesting area.

Emperor penguins stay off the coast of Antarctica for about 10 months. The first birds appear on the nesting grounds at the end of the Antarctic summer (mid-March-mid-April). Here the birds unite in pairs, accompanying this process with screams and frequent fights. This is how a colony is formed. Maximum size colonies - 10 thousand birds, minimum - 300 birds.

Then the birds calm down, stand quietly in pairs during the day, gather in groups at night, forming a "turtle". In May-early June, the female lays a single egg, rolls it onto her paws with the help of her beak and covers it with a skin fold on the underside of the belly, which is called the pouch. The appearance of the egg is accompanied by loud cries of the parents. Emperor penguin egg weight 450 g, size 12x9 cm; average temperature eggs 31.4 C°. After a few hours, the male, who also has a pouch, takes care of the egg. The female, having starved for 45-50 days, goes to feed at sea. Males, on the other hand, with any deterioration in the weather, gather in dense groups - about 10 birds per 1 m², which helps to save the life of future offspring. At the same time, approximately 4-8% of non-breeding individuals are present in the colony. The duration of incubation of eggs is 62-66 days, sometimes up to 100 days.

The females return from feeding and at the same time the chicks emerge from the eggs. Each female finds her husband by voice. Males, having starved for 3 months and having lost 40% of their body weight, give them eggs or already hatched chicks and go to feed themselves. Average weight the hatched chick is 315 g. If the chick hatched before the female returned from the sea, then the father feeds him with "milk" - a special juice that the penguin's stomach and esophagus produces, or rather the esophageal gland. This juice contains a glycolipoprotein substance, which has about 28% fat, about 60% protein. On this food, the chick can hold out for several days. Females feed the chicks for about three weeks on semi-digested food, gruel from krill and fish, stocked up on a journey by sea, and the same milk. At the age of five weeks, the emperor penguin chicks no longer fit in the bag and go to the so-called "kindergartens", where they spend time huddled tightly to each other. Adult penguins protect them from attacks by predators - petrels and skuas. Parents find their chick among hundreds of others and feed only him. During this period, the chick can eat up to 6 kg of fish at a time. The nestling feeding period ends in December - January, at the height of the Antarctic summer. The molting period lasts for 30-35 days, during which the birds do not eat anything, sit still and lose a lot of weight. The chicks will become capable of swimming only by January. Then adults and young birds go to sea until next spring.

natural enemies

Emperor penguins have few enemies, and the natural age of these birds can be up to 25 years.

The only predators that kill adult emperor penguins in or near water are killer whales and leopard seals. On ice floes, it sometimes happens that emperor penguin chicks become the prey of skuas or giant petrels. It is from the latter that the greatest danger comes, since it is the cause of the death of up to a third of emperor penguin chicks. For adults, these birds are not dangerous.

The emperor penguin is the tallest and largest living penguin. The photo shows that tall (over a meter in height) and portly, the emperor penguin is the most prominent representative the penguin family.

This penguin is endemic, found only in Antarctica.

The appearance of the emperor penguin is very impressive and bright: the rich black plumage of the back, head and wings contrasts sharply with the snow-white belly.

The feathers of the back have a noticeable gray-blue camouflage tint. In the emperor penguin, the soft yellow color of the throat feathers turns into a bright yellow plumage of the parotid areas on the sides of the head. The largest individuals weigh about 40 kg. Male and female look the same, but differ in weight.

The penguin's habitat conditions are much harsher than those of any other bird. The low temperatures of Antarctica, its strong piercing winds, snow storms and icy sea waters create impossible conditions for existence. But not for penguins. To extreme features they have adapted well to their environment.

Small head and limbs, thick layer subcutaneous fat, a feather shell made of rigid short feathers that are very closely adjacent to each other, reduce heat loss and contribute to waterproofing (the feather cover is water-repellent). The streamlined body and flipper-like wings give out a natural swimmer and diver in the penguin.

Emperor penguins are social animals. They live in large colonies Antarctic ice near shelters in the form of hummocks, rocks, cliffs and ice irregularities. To keep warm, penguins gather in close groups, and the animals constantly change places: from the edges they move to the center and vice versa.

Emperor penguins form pairs in the dead of winter with stormy winds (200 km/h) and low temperatures ah (below 60 °C). But on the other hand, the chicks that were born will grow up and get stronger by the end of summer. Within 6 weeks of mating, the female emperor penguin lays an egg. Having given the egg to the male, the female goes in search of food and returns back after 2.5-3 months. The male warms the egg by holding it under the belly on its paws and covering it with a fold of skin.

During the incubation period, the penguin loses almost half of its body weight (about 40%). But he goes to the sea in search of food only after the return of the female. The mother feeds the chick with semi-digested fish. Next, the parents get food to feed the chick in turn. At the age of two months, grown-up babies begin to gather in flocks - a nursery. At some point ( summer period) adult penguins stop supplying the young with food, and he moves to an independent life.

To feed themselves, the emperor penguin has to spend a lot of time in the water, diving up to 450 m deep and swimming in the open sea at a distance of up to 1000 km. Their diet consists mainly of fish, but also crustaceans such as krill, and cephalopods such as squid.

Imperial or big penguins(Aptenodytes) - birds belonging to the penguin family. The scientific name translates from Greek like "wingless divers". Penguins are well known all over the world for their characteristic black and white plumage and very funny behavior.

Description of the emperor penguin

Emperor penguins are very different from other members of the penguin family.. These are the largest and very heavy birds, the peculiarity of which is the inability to build nests, and the incubation of the egg is carried out inside a special leathery fold on the belly.

Appearance

Male emperor penguins are capable of reaching a height of 130 cm with an average weight of 35-40 kg, but some individuals have a body weight of 50 kg, and sometimes more. The height of an adult female is 114-115 cm with a body weight of 30-32 kg. This species has the largest muscle mass, due to a very well-developed thoracic region.

The plumage of the dorsal part of the emperor penguin is black, and the thoracic region is white, making the bird less visible to enemies in the water. Under the cervical region and in the cheek area, the presence of a yellowish-orange color is characteristic.

It is interesting! The black plumage of an adult penguin changes to brown coloring around November, and remains in this form until the onset of February.

The body of the emerging chicks is covered with a pure white or grayish-white fluff. The weight of a baby born on average is 310-320 g. The plumage of adult emperor penguins is able to provide good protection of the body from heat loss without changes in metabolism. Among other things, the heat exchange mechanism of blood flow, which circulates in the paws of the bird, fights against heat loss.

Another characteristic difference penguin from other birds is bone density. If in all birds the bones have a tubular structure, which facilitates the skeleton and allows you to fly, then the penguins have a skeleton without the presence of internal cavities.

Lifespan

Compared to other penguin species, whose average lifespan rarely exceeds fifteen years, king penguins are natural conditions able to live a quarter of a century. There are cases when, when kept in a zoo, the life expectancy of individuals exceeded thirty years..

Where does the emperor penguin live?

This species of bird has become widespread in territories located within 66 ° and 77 ° south latitude. To create nesting colonies, places are chosen in close proximity to icebergs or ice cliffs, where emperor penguins are most comfortable and have good protection from strong or gusty winds.

The average population of the species can vary between 400-450 thousand individuals, divided into several colonies.

It is interesting! Approximately 300 thousand emperor penguins live on the ice floes located around Antarctica, but during the mating season and to incubate eggs, birds must migrate to the mainland.

A significant number of breeding pairs are located on the "Cape Washington". This place is considered to be one of the largest in terms of the number of king penguins. Approximately 20-25 thousand breeding pairs of this species are observed here. A large number of individuals are also found on Queen Maud Land, Coleman and Victoria Islands, Taylor Glacier and Heard Island.

Lifestyle and behavior

Emperor penguins stay in colonies that find natural shelters for themselves, represented by cliffs or fairly large ice floes. Around the habitat, there are necessarily areas with open water and forage base. For movement, these unusual birds very often use their belly, lying on which the emperor penguin begins to actively work not only with its paws, but also with its wings.

To keep warm, adults are able to gather in fairly dense groups. Even with temperature regime ambient air at −20°C, inside such a group the temperature is stable at +35°C 35.

It is interesting! To ensure equality, emperor penguins, gathered in groups, constantly change places, so individuals placed in the center periodically move to the edge, and vice versa.

About a couple of months a year, the bird spends in the waters of the water area. Emperor penguins have a very proud and majestic appearance, corresponding to the name, but at the same time, it is a very cautious, and sometimes even shy bird, so repeated attempts to ring it have not been successful so far.

Emperor penguin food

Emperor penguins hunt, gathering in groups of different numbers. As a rule, the bird swims inside the fish school, and quickly attacking its prey, swallows it. small fish absorbed directly in water, but more big booty penguins butcher already on the surface.

It is interesting! Adult male and female penguins can walk almost 500 km in squeaks of food. They are not afraid of extreme temperatures of minus 40-70°C and wind speeds of up to 144 km/h.

During the hunt, the bird is able to move at speeds up to 5-6 km / h or swim considerable distances. Penguins can stay underwater for up to fifteen minutes. The main guideline in the process of hunting is vision. The diet is represented not only by fish, but also by various shellfish, squid and krill.

Reproduction and offspring

King penguins are monogamous, so a couple is created for almost the rest of their lives.. Males use a loud voice to attract their mate. mating games about a month lasts, during which the birds go for joint walks, as well as peculiar “dances” with low bows and even alternate singing. A single egg for the entire breeding season is laid in about four weeks. It is quite large, and has a length of 120 mm with a width of 8-9 mm. The average egg weight varies within 490-510 g. Egg-laying is carried out in May-early June and, as a rule, is accompanied by loud jubilant cries of the male and female.

For some time, the female holds the egg in her paws, covering it with a leathery fold on her belly, and after a few hours passes it to the male. The female, starving for a month and a half, goes hunting, and the male warms the egg in the pouch for nine weeks. During this period, the male rarely makes any movements and feeds only on snow, therefore, by the time the chick appears, it is able to lose more than a third of its original body weight. As a rule, the female returns from hunting in mid-July and, recognizing her male by voice, replaces him in planting eggs.

It is interesting! Sometimes the female does not have time to return from the hunt for the appearance of the chick, and then special glands work in the male, processing subcutaneous fat into creamy "bird's milk", with the help of which the offspring are fed.

The chicks are covered with fluff, so they will be able to swim only six months later, after the main molt has passed.. At the age of one and a half months, the baby is already briefly separated from his parents. Often the result of such carelessness is the death of a chick, which is preyed upon by skuas and predatory giant petrels. A couple who have lost their baby are able to steal someone else's little penguin and raise him as their own. Real battles unfold between native and "foster" parents, which often end in the death of birds. Around January, all adult penguins and young go to sea.

Natural enemies of the emperor penguin

Adult emperor penguins are powerful and well developed birds, so in natural conditions they do not have too many enemies.

The only predators that prey on an adult penguin of this species are killer whales and. Also, young small penguins and chicks on ice floes can become prey for adult skuas or giant petrels.

Population and species status

The main threats to the king penguin population are global warming, as well as a sharp reduction forage base. The decrease in the total area of ice cover on the planet has a very Negative influence on the reproduction of king penguins, as well as fish and crustaceans, on which this bird feeds.

Important! As numerous studies show, with a probability of 80%, the population of such penguins runs the risk of being reduced to 5% of today's numbers very soon.

Commercial demand for fish and its irregular catch cause depletion of food resources, so it becomes more and more difficult for penguins to get their own food every year. Significant disturbance also negatively affects the number of birds. natural environment, due to massive development tourism and severe clogging of nesting sites. If urgent measures are not taken in the near future, then very soon on everything the globe only 350-400 pairs will remain that will be able to have offspring.

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Kingdom: Animals

The emperor penguin (lat. Aptenodytes forsteri) is the largest of 18 species of the penguin family. The emperor penguin was discovered by the Bellingshausen expedition of 1819-1822.

The average body length of an adult animal is 120 cm, weight is from 27 to 41 kg. Outwardly, these birds look like they are wearing a tailcoat: their head is black with a bluish tint, their chest is white, the wings are black, the back is bluish-gray, and the beak at the base is purple-pink. On the cheeks there is a golden-yellow stripe going to the neck. There are no flight feathers on the wings, the span is 1.36 - 1.59 m. Small wings, unable to hold the bird's heavy body in the air, are excellent fins. When diving, the penguin rakes them like flippers and is able to move very quickly in the water.

When hunting, emperor penguins cover long distances, swimming speed is about 20-25 km / h, and depths up to 535 meters, but if the penguins are in a hurry, they can reach speeds of 40 km / h. If necessary, they can spend up to 15 minutes under water. The more light, the deeper they dive, since their main guide when hunting is sight, not hearing or echo sounder. On land, the speed of movement is 3-6 km.h.

Swimming under water differs from flying in the air in that the same energy is expended on raising the wing as on lowering, since water resistance is greater than air resistance, therefore penguin blades have a large surface in comparison with other birds, on which muscles are attached, responsible for lifting the wing. The pectoral muscles are developed and sometimes make up to 30% of the body weight, which is several times greater than the muscles of the most powerful flying birds.

Over the years of evolution, these sea birds perfectly adapted to life in conditions of extremely low temperatures. wise nature provided them with several layers of warm, durable feathers that can withstand an icy wind blowing at a speed of more than 110 km / h, at a temperature of -50 degrees. Under the skin of the bird there is a layer of fat, its thickness can reach three centimeters, and this subcutaneous protection from the cold also prevents the penguin from freezing either in icy water or on land.

In order to avoid heat loss through the paws, penguins have a mechanism for heat exchange of the blood streams circulating in the paws. Arteries and veins are located close to each other, arterial blood entering the paws is cooled, venous blood, on the contrary, takes heat from the arterial blood before returning back to the body of the bird. Thus, the temperature of the paws is much lower than the temperature of the body, the tissues here are much less sensitive to cold and the risk of frostbite is minimal.

Another clear difference between penguins and other birds is bone density. All birds have tubular bones, which makes their skeleton lighter and allows them to fly or run fast, while in penguins they are similar to the bones of mammals (dolphins and seals) and do not contain internal cavities.

The emperor penguin is a bird unadapted to flight, however, its “flight” from the water cannot but arouse admiration, which can reach 1.8 meters.

Almost all year round emperor penguins are forced to withstand severe frosts, which often intensify northern winds blowing at speeds up to 200 km/h. Then mutual assistance comes to the aid of the inhabitants of the colony - they gather dense, up to ten individuals per one. square meter, groups and warm each other with their warmth.

The birds in this unimaginable crowd move in periodic waves, constantly changing the structure of the group, which allows birds from the outer row to move inside the flock over time. Birds are "compacted" so closely that it is impossible to move separately. However, in a close group, they move in a very coordinated manner, maintaining mobility and "hermetic packaging". Every 30 to 60 seconds, all penguins take small steps that are transmitted like waves through the whole flock - over time, these small movements lead to a large-scale reorganization. In general, individual penguins do not change their position in relation to their neighbors, and they do not deliberately climb into or out of the aggregation.

According to their beliefs, penguins are monogamous, that is, pairs are created for almost a lifetime. If peacocks attract females with their beauty, and deer with tournament victories, then penguins rely on their voice in everything. The male begins to scream and waits for the female to respond to his unique “serenade”.

From now on, the male and the female stay together. "Flirting" penguins lasts a month. First, the penguin waddles after the "bride", and they dance for hours in one place, against each other, bowing their heads to the beat of their movements. Then the lovers arch their bodies, raise their heads to the sky and sing in turn. And the most interesting: before copulation, the penguin exchanges low bows with the penguin.

It takes 25 days before an egg is laid, the only one during the breeding season. Emperor penguin eggs are large: 12 cm long, 8-9 cm wide and about 500 g in weight. Their color is white. Egg laying is dated for May-beginning of June.

The male and female greet the appearance of the egg with loud, as observers say, "jubilant" cries. For some time, the female holds the egg on its paws, covering it with a special fold of skin on the underside of the belly. After a few hours, it is transferred to the male, while the female, having starved for 45-50 days, goes to feed at sea.

Daddy carefully holds the egg on his paws, covering the top with a fold of the abdomen, which is called a bag. Even in the most severe frosts, the temperature in the egg does not fall below 33.6 degrees. And so the father penguin stands, actually not moving for 9 weeks. During this time, he eats nothing but snow, so by the time his wife returns, he can lose up to 40% of his mass.

But this is not the most amazing! If the female suddenly, for some reason, does not keep up by the time the chick appears, the male finds the strength and means to feed the chick himself. Special glands begin to work, which process fat into a creamy mass. This is “bird's milk” and the male expresses it mouth-to-mouth to his chick!

In mid-July, the female returns. She recognizes her partner by voice and takes over from him the baton of hatching eggs. And he, having lost almost half his weight, goes to the sea to recuperate. It will replenish energy reserves and subcutaneous fat by hunting squid, fish and krill.

By this time, the chick is still covered with fluff and will be able to swim only after molting (about six months later). But he is already curious and begins to leave the female at the age of three or four weeks. Sometimes it ends badly. And the point here is not only in the "skua bandits" or giant petrels. The trouble is that penguins are extremely child-loving. Therefore, a bachelor or a female who has lost a chick is constantly ready to pull off and “adopt” a gaping baby.

As soon as the kid gapes, several hooligans attack him at once and try to capture him. When the parents discover the kidnapping, a real fight ensues between them and the kidnappers. Crimson blood stains appear on the blinding whiteness of the ice. The fate of the chicks depends on the outcome of these battles. If his parents save him, he will survive, despite serious wounds and spilled blood. If a bachelor forcibly adopts him, his fate is sealed, he will die. In a few days, the stepfather will get hungry, he will have to go in search of food, there is no one to replace him, he has no girlfriend, and then he will leave his stepson, dooming him to certain death.

The chicks are not similar in color to adults, they are grayish, with a white "face" and a black cap. The first and second downy outfits differ in the length of the pubescence. After 5-6 months, the 2nd downy outfit of the chicks is replaced by a feather one. At the same time, adult birds begin to molt, lasting more than a month. Birds spend this period standing motionless in secluded places, they do not eat anything, they lose a lot of weight. Since January, adult and young penguins go to sea.

emperor penguin under protection international community, the penguin population is declining as everything returns to Antarctica fewer birds from year to year.

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