Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Other Names (World)
Adelie Penguin, Black-throated Penguin

Family
Spheniscidae (Penguins)

Size
60 - 79 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)

Derivation
Pygoscelis - Gk, pygos, elbow; Gk, oscelos, leg: adeliae - Mme Adele Dumont d'Urville, nee Pepin, who married Admiral J.S.C. Dumont d'Urville in 1815 and died in 1842

Abundance (Guide)
V

Estimated population, 6 million.

Rare, vagrant to Tasmania. Common Heard and Macquarie islands.

Habitat
Circumpolar in pack-ice of Antarctic Zone.

Range (Guide)

Antarctica (B), Bouvet Island (B), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (B).

Vagrant to Argentina, Australia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), French Southern Territories, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, New Zealand.

Circumpolar; largely restricted to Antarctica.

Breeds around coasts of Antarctica and surrounding islands. Accidental to Australia.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is 4,000,000 - 5,220,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mostly euphausiid crustaceans but also fish, amphipods and cephalopods, taken during pursuit-diving.

Voice
Rhythmic throbbing sounds. Brief 'peeps' on hatching. Small chicks give repeated 'peeps'.

(24Kb) © ? (2)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (20)...)

Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) [XC782575]
by \u738b\u81ea\u5803 from Inexplicable island, Antarctica (call)

Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) [XC254614]
by Andrew Spencer from Brown Bluff, Antarctica (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds around coasts of Antarctica and islands (October - February, but earlier in the northern colonies).

Nest
A scoop or hollow in the ground, lined with pebbles, occasional bones. In large colonies.

Eggs (Guide)
1 - 2, usually 2; white or greenish, becoming stained, with a chalky surface; oval or broadly-ellipsoidal; about 61 - 77 x 47 - 59 mm. Incubation: about 30 - 37 days; by both sexes. Incubation usually carried out on the feet.

Young
Semi-altricial, semi-nidicolous. Fledge in about 50 - 61 days. Fed by both parents.

Subspecies
May form superspecies with Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua)
Similar size. Vagrants only as ranges are different. Has a longer, bright orange bill. Has white eye patches.

Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus)
Fledglings with recently fledged. Have white above the eye and black under the chin.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

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