Birds, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 1, 2013

Animal Sex: How Penguins Do It

There are about 18 species of penguins, and though their mating behaviors are fundamentally similar, each species has its own quirks, said penguin researcher Emma Marks of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Breeding usually takes place during the Antarctic summer (October through February), though some species do mate...

Dec 16, 2013

Huddle Up: the Surprising Physics of Penguin Movements

When male emperor penguins face the minus-58-degrees-Fahrenheit (minus 50 degrees Celsius), 120-mph (200 km/h) winds of Antarctic winters, the birds rely on their neighbors' bodies to keep themselves — and the eggs that they protect in a pouch near their feet — alive and warm. Maintaining a massive huddle of...

Dec 18, 2013

Charming Chick Photos: Antarctica's Baby Penguins

Amazing emperor penguins (Image credit: International Polar Foundation)A recent visit to a remote emperor penguin colony on East Antarctica's Princess Ragnhild Coast found 15,000 penguins living in four groups, including thousands of cute, fuzzy chicks. The expedition leaders watched penguin parents deliver regurgitated meals to their demanding young, as the...

Dec 18, 2013

Babies Abound at Penguin Colony Found by Poop

A recent visit to a remote Antarctic emperor penguin colony found thousands of fuzzy penguin chicks, meaning the colony is even bigger than previously thought. A team from Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station estimates there are 15,000 penguins living in four groups at the colony, on East Antarctica's...

Jan 8, 2014

Penguins' Climate-Change Solution? Cliff-Climbing

Emperor penguins may be one of the most awkward birds on land, but it turns out they can clamber up Antarctica's steep ice cliffs and start new breeding colonies if their sea ice homes disappear, a new study of the birds' behaviors finds. This is a new breeding behavior we're...

Jan 29, 2014

Images: Downy Magellanic Penguin Chicks Suffer From Hypothermia

Too big to protect (Image credit: D. Boersma/U of Washington)Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins that live along the coasts of Chile and Argentina. Researchers based at the University of Washington in Seattle have been monitoring a Magellanic colony located about halfway up the coast of Argentina for nearly 30 years,...

Feb 11, 2014

Images: Adélie Penguins Cope With Changing Sea Ice Conditions

Adélie colony (Image credit: Copyright A.M. Thierry)Adélie penguins are common along coastal Antarctica but, in recent years, populations have increasingly suffered from changes in sea ice conditions associated with climate change. The penguins use sea ice as platforms for hunting, and have to expend more energy hunting when sea ice...

Feb 11, 2014

Stress Makes Antarctic Penguins Less-Attentive Parents

Stress induced by changes in Antarctic sea ice may cause adult male Adélie penguins to be less attentive to their chicks, and may increase chick mortality, according to a new study. A certain degree of stress and the related release of hormones can benefit penguins and other animals by increasing...

May 6, 2014

New 'Penguin Flu' Found in Antarctica

A new version of bird flu unlike any other seen on Earth has been discovered in Antarctica, researchers announced today (May 6). But breathe easy: The flu's gene segments show no sign that the virus is particularly deadly, nor is it adapted to transmit to mammals. An attempt to infect...

Jun 10, 2014

King Penguins' Genes Explain Ancient Island-Hopping

King penguins colonized a string of islands north of Antarctica about 15,000 years ago, after glaciers melted and the climate warmed, according to a new genetic study. The balmier weather gave the penguins two things they needed to thrive: ice-free pockets of land on which to raise their chicks, and...

Jun 12, 2014

Penguins Once Thrived in Warmer Temps, But Now Face Climate Crisis

Since the last ice age, penguins have basked in warmer Antarctic climates because less ice makes it easier for the birds to breed and hunt for food, a new study reveals. But there's a key caveat: Current climate change is happening too fast for their food supply to keep up...

Jun 12, 2014

In Photos: The Amazing Penguins of Antarctica

Being mom (Image credit: Tom Hart.)An Adélie penguin incubating its chicks at Petermann Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. At home (Image credit: Gemma Clucas)An Adélie penguin on Penguin Island, which forms part of the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. Going for a swim (Image credit: Gemma Clucas)Adélie penguins on the...

Jun 23, 2014

Poop Stains Reveal Penguins Migrate With Climate

In the face of rising temperatures, emperor penguins in Antarctica may be forced to find new breeding grounds instead of returning to the same spot to mate year after year, new research finds. Scientists are tracking this climate-driven march by studying the penguins' poop stains; in satellite images, the birds'...

Sep 22, 2014

Penguin Facts: Species & Habitat

Penguins are torpedo-shaped, flightless birds that live in the southern regions of the Earth. Though many people imagine a small, black-and-white animal when they think of penguins, these birds actually come in a variety of sizes, and some are very colorful. For example, crested penguins sport a crown of yellow...

Nov 5, 2014

How to Infiltrate Penguin Territory: Adorable Fuzzy Robots

Imagine you're a field biologist who studies penguins. You go all the way to Antarctica. You finally get up close to a noisy, smelly colony of the birds. But once they see you, they start to freak out. Some retreat with their eggs, and in the process, they encroach on...