World Penguin Day

 Today is World Penguin Day!

This day is celebrated on April 25 because it's around this time of year that Adelie penguins migrate to their breeding colonies around this time every year.

Penguins are flightless aquatic birds that mostly live in the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, only one species of penguin lives north of the Equator: the Galapagos penguin. Penguin diets comprise of sea animals, like fish, squid, and krill. They spend half their lives waddling about being penguins on land, and the other swimming around. Penguins mainly feed on krill, squids, and other forms of sea life, swallowing them whole with spiny tongues and powerful jaws.

The word "penguin" started appearing in the 16th century as a synonym for another bird: the great auk. They are not actually related. There have been many theories about where the word "penguin" came from, from Latin, from Welsh, etc.

Most penguins live south of the Equator near the South Pole. Only the Galapagos penguin lives around the Equator itself. Penguins tend to spend their lives equally between the land and the sea.

In prehistoric times, penguins could reach the height of the average human. Nowadays, the emperor penguin, the largest species of penguin, can reach about three feet in height. Penguin wings are adapted to allow them to move through the water at great speed and agility. Their black-and-white bodies are also colored that way for the purpose of camouflage while swimming, making them hard to make out from above or below. They also have a thick layer of insulating feathers that help them stay warm in water (you lose heat faster in water than in air), and they have good eyesight for birds. They are also capable of drinking salt water because they have a special gland in their bodies that filters out the salt.

Most species of penguins form monogamous couples in large groups when it comes time to laying eggs. Penguins usually lay two at a time. Most penguin species have only one brood per year. Little penguins, though, lay up to three. 

Sadly, the penguin is experiencing a decline in population. Hopefully they can be saved. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!