emperor-penguins
A group of penguins in water is called a raft but on land, it is called a waddle. The black and white “tuxedo” look donned by most penguins by most species is a clever camouflage called countershading. When swimming, the black on their backs helps them blend in with the darkness of the ocean from predators viewing from above. Their white bellies help them to blend with the surface of the ocean when viewed by predators and prey from below. Penguins may huddle together for several reasons. This behavior protects them from predators. In frigid, huddling helps penguins retain warmth. Penguins evolved to live underwater. Most birds have hollow, air-filled bones to help them stay for flight. Penguins adapted with solid bones instead. This helps them swim because solid bones reduce buoyancy-the tendency to float. A penguin’s thick feathers aren’t the only way this bird stays warm. A gland near the base of its tail provides waterproof oil. Penguins spend several hours covering their feathers with this oil and give extra attention to this task before swimming. Penguins live in many locations and habitats. You can find them in Antarctica and Antarctic islands, the Galapagos Islands of the coast of Ecuador, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, and Chile. Contrary to many popular holiday cartoons, you’ll never see penguins and polar bears in the wild. That’s because penguins live in the south of the equator while polar bears live in the north of the equator in the Arctic. Penguin feet are adapted to walk long distances. Some species of penguins can walk up to 60km on the ice sea to reach breeding grounds.
