Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds.
Penguin Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Neognathae
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
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Other Names:
Penguin in Foreign Languages:
Afrikaans: pikkewyn
Arabic: biTriiq / bingwiin
Armenian: pingvin
Basque: pinguino
Belarusian: pinhvín
Bosnian: pingvin
Bulgarian: pingvín
Catalan: pingüí
Chinese: Mandarin: qi'é
Croatian: pingvin
Czech: tucnák
Danish: pingvin
Dutch: pinguïn
Esperanto: pingveno
Finnish: pingviini
French: manchot
German: Pinguin
Greek: pigkouínos
Hungarian: pingvin
Icelandic: mörgæs
Italian: pinguino
Japanese: pengin
Korean: peng-gwin
Latin: pingvin
Latvian: pingvins
Lithuanian: pingvinas
Low Saxon: Pinguien
Macedonian: pingvín
Maltese: pengwin
Navajo: tsídii na'alk'ai'í
Norwegian: pingvin
Polish: pingwin
Portuguese: pinguim
Romanian: pinguin / pinguini
Russian: pingvín
Slovak: tucniak
Slovene: pingvin
Spanish: pingüino
Swedish: pingvin
Thai: payn-gwin
Turkish: penguen
Ukrainian: pinhvín
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Species: There are currently 17 species of penguins.
Size: The largest penguin is the emperor penguin
weighing up to 90 pounds and measuring 3.7 to 4 feet
tall. The smallest penguin is the fairy penguin weighing
only 2 lbs and measuring only 16 inches tall.
Habitat: Penguins live almost exclusively in
the Southern Hemisphere, and many species are found
in Antartica. Penguins can also be found in South America,
South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Description: Penguins have robust bodies with
wings, that act more like flippers in the water. Penguins
have a large head, short neck, and elongated body.Penguins
have distinctive black and white feathers that lay flat.
Diet: Penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, shrimp,
crustaceans and other forms of marine life.
Communication: Penguin vocalizations
are individually identifiable, allowing mates
to recognize each other and also their chick.
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Did You Know?
Penguins can swim up to 20 miles per
hour.
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Incubation: Penguins eggs incubate from 1 month
to 66 days depending on the species.
Birth: Penguins lay 1 to 2 eggs depending on
the species.
Sexually Mature: Penguins reach sexual maturity
between 3 to 8 years.
Life Span: Penguins in the wild live
15 to 20 years, depending on the species.
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Did You Know?
Many penguin species are monogamous
and may stay with the same mate for
several breeding seasons.
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Social Structure: Penguins are highly social,
colonial birds.
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