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)
Estimated population, 6 million.

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.

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'.

(19Kb) © ? (2)

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

Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) [XC69347]
by Frank Lambert from ?, Argentina (call)

Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) [XC254606]
by Andrew Spencer from Brown Bluff, Antarctica (call)

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.

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

Files:

JPG files for Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) - 10 files

MP3 files for Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) - 2 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Adelie Penguin see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Adelie Penguin

If you would like to read any articles about the Adelie Penguin...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Adelie Penguin

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Adelie Penguin or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Adelie Penguin

If Birdpedia has no videos of Adelie Penguin or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)