Golden penguin - description, habitat

The golden-haired penguin got its name due to the presence of a characteristic shade on its head. These beautiful family members can compete with self-similar distinctive external data. In addition, they are fun and interesting to study. Many photographers and researchers are happy to go to the natural habitat of penguins to watch them and compose fascinating material.

View Features

1. The first time a bird was described by a naturalist from Germany back in 1837. It was he who noticed the crested creature with interesting habits. Initially, this penguin was assigned to the general family, but over time, individuals migrated to a separate classification.
2. If you follow the data obtained from numerous studies, then the closest colleague of this bird is considered to be a royal type penguin. Of course, the second species is larger and more massive, but otherwise they are similar.
3. More than 1.5 million years ago, the first mutation occurred, the birds separated and began to change in appearance. Today, these individuals seem completely different, we will focus on the golden-haired representative of the family.

Habitat

1. Individuals of the species under discussion prefer to live on the Antarctic coast. They like to live on islands that extend along the subantarctic belt. Other exceptions include plains with endless snow mass, which does not allow access to water.
2. Penguins are colonial in nature, therefore they live in large families. They are met in southern Chile, as well as on the Orkney Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. According to experts, these individuals are found in New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Africa. But their flocks are small and fickle.
3. If we consider a specific place of residence, beautiful feathered friends prefer to settle near a rocky area. They build nests there, spend most of their lives, hide from enemies in the natural environment.
4. Since it was previously mentioned that this species inhabits colonially, it is necessary to clarify the number of individuals in one family. Attention, it can reach 1.5 million and even more. Therefore, penguins are crowded and often feuding over territory.
5. Young growth is not as conflict as the grown birds. The latter often start fights because they are trying to choose the best place to build a home. Interestingly, an unpleasant fishy smell emanates from the family’s habitat.
6. Social activity is quite developed, birds communicate with exclamations and gestures. There are a lot of sounds in their arsenal, each of them means something. When the mating season begins, the male sings and thereby calls the females. Females huddle together, and the man chooses one for himself and the dance begins.

Description

1. An individual of this genus is distinguished by its large overall characteristics. Of course, she can not compete with the king penguins, but at the same time not small. So, the bird grows up to 70 cm in growth, but larger representatives were also found.
2. There are gender differences, male representatives are slightly larger than females. An interesting feature is inherent in these birds. They vary in body weight depending on the period of the year. Also dump decently in weight during mating. In general, the mass varies between 3-6 kg.
3. Young animals are correspondingly smaller, but quickly gaining fat reserves as they grow. Before molting, penguins weigh about 6 kg., Then they lose weight 1.5–2 times. Initially, these birds were called crested, not golden-haired.This is due to the characteristic crest on the head, pigmented with a yellow-orange tint.
4. The forelock is above the eyebrows. It is considered a hallmark of this species. The beak is strong and large enough. It is painted with a brownish color with an orange tint. Slightly bends down like a claw.
5. In all other respects, these penguins almost do not stand out among similar individuals. They are almost all over the body painted in blue or black. The abdomen and neck are white. The legs are pinkish, as is the area under the wings.

Diet

1. Do not forget that individuals of this species are birds of prey. They do not know how to fly, but this does not prevent them from being excellent hunters under water. Note this penguins are doing it quite successfully.
2. Adult individuals are quite capable of diving to a depth of more than 65 m. However, under water without oxygen, they can be up to 3 minutes. In addition, before hunting and immersion in water, penguins gain a small amount of stones in their mouths. Thanks to this extra weight allows predators to plunge into water faster.
3. Often, golden-haired penguins prey on small fish. They also enjoy crustaceans and squid. If you look from the other side, while feeding offspring, parents try to bring small mollusks and plankton.
4. The problem is that the body of young animals is rather weak and has not yet fully grown. Therefore, larger food chicks simply can not digest. It is for this reason that it can be said that parents provide young animals with special “baby” nutrition.

Interesting Facts

1. The considered individuals are not listed in the Red Book, however, this species is under protection. It is believed that golden-haired penguins are very vulnerable.
2. Moreover, if the situation does not change, such individuals will end up in the Red Book. Birds die mainly due to the fact that ecology is severely affected throughout the planet. Specifically, penguins are negatively affected by global warming.

Such individuals are unique and protected, as a species that may disappear. The fact is that penguins have few natural enemies, they are ruined by the aggravation of ecology on the entire planet. In rare cases, seals and killer whales attack individuals.

Video: 10 facts about penguins