The most numerous bird on Antarctica, the Adélie is well adapted to its harsh home.
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What do Adélie penguins look like?
Considered middling in size within the penguin world, the Adélie combines a black head, back and throat with snowy white underparts and a conspicuous white eye-ring surrounding a black iris.
With both sexes similarly dressed to impress, the only way the females can be distinguished is by virtue of their smaller beaks and wings (and lighter weight).
How big are Adélie penguins?
They are around 70cm tall and weigh between 3-6kg.
Where do Adélie penguins live?
Along with the emperor, the Adélie is one of only two species of penguin to make the Antarctic continent its true home, though honourable mentions must also go to the chinstraps, gentoos and macaronis breeding on the decidedly less harsh tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
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The most numerous bird on Antarctica, the Adélie penguin’s range all year is closely tied to the presence of both sea-ice and open water. Its huge, cacophonous breeding colonies are peppered around the continent’s perimeter and adjacent islands.
What do Adélie penguins eat?
The bird’s diet can be quite varied but krill (comprising several species) figure prominently.
Adélies seem able to monitor how much salt they both eat and feed their young. With little access to fresh water, they have learned to eat krill low in salt. They can also remove potassium and sodium ions from the food in their stomachs before regurgitating for the chicks.
Why are they called Adélie?
The Adélie penguin is named after a slice of Antarctica called Adélie Land. This is itself a reference to the wife – Adèle – of the French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, who discovered the species to science in 1840 (though it’s now considered an unfashionable practice to name a species after any one person).
How do they hunt prey?
Like all penguins, the Adélie is a supremely skilled swimmer, and hunts down its prey with a series of mostly shallow pursuit dives.
How do Adélie penguins breed?
Returning to dry land at the beginning of the austral summer (around October), Adélies tend to be faithful to their chosen breeding locality and even the same spot within that colony. They will frequently re-pair with their previous mate – providing their betrothed doesn’t turn up too late.
Breeding colonies are invariably positioned on rocky slopes, where the wind and angle of the sun help to keep the birds’ nests snow-free. With such precise nesting requirements, it’s no surprise that some of the colonies can be vast, such as those in the Danger Islands and at Cape Adare.
After laying two eggs by mid-November, trips to feed can be long and arduous before the pack ice breaks up, with some adults having to walk or ‘toboggan’ 50km to reach the open ocean. Incubation in the early stages is done in shifts of up to two weeks at a time, which shorten when the chicks hatch in December and conditions improve.
Fed on regurgitated fish and krill, the chicks put on weight quickly and by three weeks old are large enough to be left alone, freeing up both parents to forage.
With weather conditions still harsh, the youngsters left behind often huddle together for warmth and protection. Feathers eventually replace their grey, fluffy down and, by the two-month mark (around mid-February), the fledglings are ready to brave the ocean and independence.
They learn their trade for three to five years at sea before being drawn into the mating game.
Which animals hunt Adélie penguins?
At the colonies, southern giant petrels, skuas and snowy sheathbills patrol in search of unguarded eggs, solitary chicks and dead penguins.
Visiting researchers have often commented that Adélies, despite their small size, often charge to defend their colony with flailing flippers.
Out at sea, the Adélie’s main predator is the leopard seal. Here the penguin’s distinctive plumage can provide camouflage (or countershading) when viewed from below, but if spotted, the birds rely on their manoeuvrability and a porpoising technique to stay one step ahead.
What's the lifespan of an Adélie penguin?
Should they avoid claws and jaws on land and at sea, Adélie penguins have a lifespan of up to 16 years.
Where can you see Adélie penguins?
- The Danger Islands – more than 750,000 pairs of Adélies have recently been discovered here. The islands are notoriously difficult to reach, as they are frequently surrounded by thick sea-ice.
Researchers were unaware that the Danger Islands held Adélie breeding colonies until 2014, when satellite images revealed areas of rock covered with penguin guano. Using drones and counting software, the scientists discovered 751,527 pairs across five breeding colonies. - Ridley Beach, Cape Adare, The Ross Sea – once considered the world’s largest Adélie colony, numbers here have fluctuated over time, but the last census in 2014 indicated more than 338,000 pairs.
- Torgersen Island – this colony has shrunk by 60 per cent since 1974, probably due to a reduction in sea-ice, but is still home to a population of 3,000 pairs.
- The Windmill Islands – the Adélie population on this small group of rocky islands in East Antarctica has grown from around 30,000 breeding pairs in the 1950s to nearly 200,000 today.
- Cape Crozier, The Ross Sea – located close to Cape Adare, this large colony consists of about 150,000 pairs and is considered a key part of the Ross Sea’s Adélie penguin metapopulation.
