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Adelie Penguins

Adelie penguins are the smallest penguin species living on Antarctica. They stand only about 28 inches tall and usually weigh between 8 and 9 lbs, but have been weighed as much as 13 lbs. Adelie penguins are named after the wife of a French explorer named Dumont d'Urville in the 1830s.

These penguins are considered one of the stiff-tailed penguin species. They have long tail feathers in comparison to other penguins, and their tail feathers drag on the ground when they walk. As with most other penguins, Adelie penguins have a white belly with a black head and back, and they have a white ring around their eye. The adelie penguins short beak is covered mostly in feathers.

Adelie penguins are very strong swimmers and are able to leap straight out of the water onto land. They often move on land by sliding down hills on their bellies instead of walking.

Springtime in Antarctica begins in October, and it is light outside nearly 24 hours a day. This is when the penguins begin arriving at their rookery. Adelie penguins usually return to the same rookery each year. When the males arrive at the rookeries, they claim their spot and begin trying to attract females by using various call sounds. The penguins usually have the same mate each year also.

The Adelie penguin species breed and nest on rocky, ice-free beaches of Antarctica in large colonies that usually have a population of ten thousands of birds. It is said that as of 2007, there are over 2.5 million breeding pairs of Adelie penguins living in Antarctica. After bonding and mating, female Adelie penguins usually lay 2 eggs in a nest. The male penguin then takes over the responsibility of caring for the egg and he keeps it warm by holding it on top of his feet so it's off the ground, or he'll lay on the egg in the nest. While the male cares for the egg, the female penguin goes to sea to feed so and returns back to the chicks in about three weeks. As part of the chicks education, when the parent penguins return with food for the babies, they sometimes will run from the baby penguin to make them chase and catch them to get the food. This helps teach the baby penguins how to hunt. Unfortunately, many times only one of the baby penguins will survive, however, Adelie penguin babies grow faster than any other penguins.

Often an Adelie penguin may have to defend their nests from other penguins who might try to steal various items from them, such as small stones and other materials used to build nests with. These are important items to penguins, and sometimes they will fight over them.

Adelie penguins don't water, but they get water through eating snow. They have a gland (supraorbital gland) in their nose that converts saltwater into freshwater, so if they swallow water when catching fish in the water, the salt won't hurt the penguin.