April 25 of each year is World Penguin Day, and to celebrate here are 14 facts about these charismatic seabirds. In big groups, they tend to only use vocalization cues to identify who their parents are and make their way to following that unique sound.

The Adélie penguin was named after Adélie Land, a region of Antarctica that was itself named after the wife of French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville. Dumont d’Urville also discovered the Adélie penguin. In addition to its large size, the emperor penguin’s distinguishing features include orange-yellow feathers around its ears and shoulders, and the orange-pink color of its lower bill.Only two species, the Adélie ( Pygoscelis adeliae) and the Emperor Penguins, live on the frozen land of Antarctica. Most penguins live farther north, in New Zealand or along the coast of South America. [2] Baby penguins are simply enchanting. As fluffy balls of cuteness, they have a distinct appearance that sets them apart from their adult counterparts. Tobagganing helps penguins travel long distances • Penguins often slide on their tummies over ice and snow. This is called tobogganing. Researchers believe they do this for fun and as an efficient way to travel. [2] All penguins are members of the kingdom Animalia, the phylum Chordata, and the class Aves, the latter of which contains all the birds. Within the class Aves, penguins are part of the clade Austrodyptornithes. The species is found all around the coast of Antarctica, and, along with the emperor penguin, lives further south than all other penguins.

Penguins possess a unique adaptation known as the brood patch, a featherless patch of skin on their lower belly. This specialized region is rich in blood vessels and plays a crucial role in incubation. When it’s time to incubate the egg, the penguin positions the egg over the brood patch, using the warmth generated by the blood vessels to keep it at the right temperature for proper development. Balancing Incubation and SurvivalOn the other hand, King penguins, only weigh up to 35 pounds and grow up to 35 inches tall. However, they’re both larger birds than most people imagine in most cases. One simple way to remember this fact is that Emperors usually hold sway over larger areas than Kings, so the names of the birds reflect that as well. Breeding Grounds and Seasons The Antarctic krill, a crustacean that is abundant in Antarctic waters, forms the bulk of the Adélie penguin’s diet.