Penguin the Flightless Bird
Well adapted to an aquatic life, penguins are
flightless birds. They predominantly live in the southern hemisphere. These
birds spend half their lives in water and the other half on land. They feed on
fish, squids and other aquatic forms of life. They swim in order to catch their
prey. Their bodies are well adapted for this purpose. The biggest penguin is
about 3 ft 7 inches tall and with the smallest species one will be only 16
inches tall.
Penguins are very good swimmers. When they swim
in water it appears as if they are flying in the air. They keep afloat with the
layer of air trapped inside their feathers. That also serves as the insulation
when the birds are in cold water of the Antarctic. They are well adapted to
protect themselves from predators with their black wings and the backs as well
as their white bellies.
When penguins dive into water in search of prey,
the smaller ones stay near the surface. They spend only around 2 minutes under
water. However, a large one could dive as deep as 565 meters and they are able
to spend 22 minutes under water at a stretch. These birds have good hearing which they use for locating their
chicks. When it comes to eye sight, they are able to see well in water. With
their good eye sight they find prey and avoid predators.
In order to maintain body temperature penguins
are able to control their blood flow. Also, they huddle together to keep warm
some times. They are so well organized that each member of the pack gets a
chance to be in the center of the pack for some time. When it is very cold, it
is the females that go looking for
food while males stay away from water.
Penguins are monogamous birds. During the mating
season they make pairs. Most species lay two eggs and the male and the female
take turns in incubating the eggs. While one is incubating the eggs the other
will go in search of food. The only exception is the Emperor penguin in which case the male does the incubation
alone.
Penguins are not scared of humans but they
normally will not come closer than 3 meters. It could be because they never
need to worry about land predators. They are more vulnerable when they are in
water as predators such as tiger seals often attack them.
Penguin is a flightless bird that is well adapted to live in the cold Antarctic regions. They
live in flocks and feed on fish. Also, they are highly social birds.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar