Birds, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 29, 2012

Too Hot for Love: Breeding Penguins Vanish from Antarctic Island

In the first complete survey of chinstrap penguins' breeding across Deception Island in the Antarctic, scientists have found a significant number of the chic birds have disappeared from the breeding grounds since the 1980s. The largest colony, called Baily Head on Deception Island, which is located in the Antarctic's South...

Nov 9, 2012

2 New Emperor Penguin Colonies Spied in Antarctica

Researchers have finally found a long-sought colony of emperor penguins in eastern Antarctica, but they say it's been split in two due to a glacier break. Moreover, a tally of the 6,000 chicks among these two populations suggests there are more emperor penguin parents in this part of the frozen...

Nov 16, 2012

Math Reveals Perfectly Cozy Penguin Huddles

Greed is good for penguins that huddle together to avoid Antarctica's icy weather. According to a new study, penguin groups can maximize everyone's heat when individual birds act selfishly, huddling in ways that keep them toastiest. Even if penguins are only selfish, only trying to find the best spot for...

Nov 20, 2012

Penguins: The Math Behind The Huddle

(ISNS) -- In the icy freeze of Antarctica, Emperor penguins huddle for warmth – and they stay toasty even though they constantly rotate positions in the scrum. Now, researchers have modeled the workings of the huddle, looking at the system through the lens of fluid dynamics. Francois Blanchette, an applied...

Nov 21, 2012

Emperor Penguins Need Sea Ice for Foraging

Motion detectors mounted on emperor penguins have revealed that sea ice plays a critical role in the birds' long food odyssey. Emperor penguins rely on sea ice for breeding and feeding. Shifting patterns of sea ice due to changing climate in the Antarctic could alter the penguin's behavior and ecology,...

Jan 6, 2013

Penguins' Private Lives Recorded in Antarctica

MCMURDO SOUND, Antarctica — Suppose someone monitors your whole life, from the moment you were born through childhood, puberty, adolescence and your midlife crisis, all the way to your ultimate death — recording what you eat, where you go, who you make love to, when you raise children and how...

Jan 8, 2013

Humans Visit Huge Penguin Colony for First Time

The existence of a 9,000-strong colony of emperor penguins in East Antarctica has been confirmed by three people who visited it for the first time. Signs of the penguins were spotted by satellite, which took images of large stains on the snow in 2009 that scientists suspected were penguin feces....

Jan 21, 2013

'Critter Cam' Reveals Secrets of Penguin Hunts

A new critter cam has captured the speedy dives of Antarctic penguins as they hunt for prey. The videos, captured by cameras attached to the birds, reveal that when going for fish, penguins use shallow dives, but may plunge deep into the frigid Antarctic waters to capture their favorite food,...

Feb 14, 2013

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze on Ice?

As cute as tuxedo-patterned penguins would look sporting oversize loafers, footwear is not part of the dress code for these warm-blooded birds. Bare feet prevent these stately ice emperors from burning up in their suits. Most of the penguin body is kept cozy by its warm, waterproof plumage. Beneath the...

Mar 6, 2013

Penguins Wear a Shield of Cold Air in Winter

Emperor penguins “wear” an invisible shield of cold air that helps to prevent body heat loss, allowing the flightless birds to survive the sub-zero temps of Antarctica, a new study finds. The report, published in the journal Biology Letters, demonstrates just how hardy the birds are. “In most birds, plumage...

Mar 26, 2013

Found: Africa's Oldest Penguins

Penguin fossils from 10 million to 12 million years ago have been unearthed in South Africa, the oldest fossil evidence of these cuddly, tuxedoed birds in Africa. The new discovery, detailed in the March 26 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, could shed light on why the...

Apr 5, 2013

How Climate Change May Help Penguin Colony

Antarctic warming has been a boon for one large colony of Adélie penguins, a finding that's surprising scientists. A recent study found that over the last 60 years, a colony of the birds on Beaufort Island in the Ross Sea, south of New Zealand, increased by 84 percent, from 35,000...

May 21, 2013

Why Penguins Quit Flying

Humans spent centuries conspiring to fly, so it might be hard to imagine that any creature would give up the skill, and yet penguins waddle among us. A new study helps confirm that these seabirds traded flight to become better swimmers. Penguins have a litany of physical features that make...

Jun 13, 2013

Magellanic Penguins Devour 2 Million Tons of Seafood Yearly

South American Magellanic penguins gobble down 1.5 million tons of silverside fish, squid and small, oily fish such as sprat every year. If all of the world's 1.3 million Magellanic penguins are as voracious as their Patagonian counterparts, then the black-and-white birds may be bolting down 2 million tons of...

Aug 22, 2013

Penguins Thrived in Antarctica During Little Ice Age

Penguin populations in the Ross Sea of Antarctica spiked during the short cold period called the Little Ice Age, which occurred between A.D.1500 and 1800, new research shows. The results run contrary to previous studies that found increases in Antarctic penguin populations during warmer climates and decreases during colder climates,...