King Penguin - Aptenodytes Patagonicus
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Distinguishing features
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Second largest of the penguins, King penguins have an orange yellow
patch on their chests and greyish black backs. A King could only be confused
with an Emperor penguin, but the location should be a give away. Emperors
are only found on and around the Antarctic continent; Kings are found further
north. To tell an Emperor from a King notice that the tear-drop shaped
ear patches are yellow on Emperors and are open. Kings have orange ear
patches that are closed.
Chicks can grow larger than their parents and usually have a uniform
brown plumage, some chicks have a silver grey plumage. Early explorers
thought king chicks were a separate species - the woolly penguin. |
Sub-species
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Two sub-species have been suggested, A. p. patagonicus from
South Georgia and the Falkands, and A. p. halli from Kerguelen,
Crozet, Heard, Prince Edward and Macquarie Islands. However, significant
size variations occur between all the island groups and most populations
from the different islands are genetically isolated from one another. |
Height
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Adult King penguins are typically 90 cm tall. Juveniles are slightly
shorter, only about 80 cm. |
Weight
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Males and females both weigh 15 - 16 kg at the beginning of courtship,
but females lose more weight so that by the end of the courtship period
males weigh 13kg , and females around 11kg. |
Breeding locations
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King penguins breed in large colonies on many sub-Antarctic islands.
Notable colonies are on Crozet Island, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen
Island, South Georgia and Macquarie Island. The total breeding population
is estimated to be over 1,000,000 pairs.
On the map the different coloured dots indicate the breeding locations
of the two sub-species. Pale yellow dots represent A. p. patagonicus
and orange dots indicate A. p. halli. |
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Nesting behaviour
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King penguins have a unique breeding cycle. It takes 14 to 16 months
to complete egg laying and chick rearing. So most pairs raise chicks at
most twice in a three year period. The breeding cycle starts with adults
coming ashore to moult and then returning to sea for 20 days to regain
body reserves. The females lay a single egg which is incubated on the parents
feet, both parents take turns to incubate the egg during the 54 day incubation
period. The chicks remain with the parents for 30 to 40 days until they
are large enough to join creches, at which time both parents go to sea
to fetch food for the growing chicks. The chicks finally moult into their
sub-adult plumage and go to sea at the age of 10 to 13 months. |
Principal diet
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King penguins diet consists almost entirely of fish with only a very
few squid and crustaceans being eaten. |
