Click on each of the following topics to learn more the details of a penguin's life.

Getting Around
Penguins spend much of their lives in the water, but must come to shore to breed and moult. They have devloped unique methods for helping them move around in both environments.

Food for Thought
All penguins obtain their food from the water, but each penguin species differs in the types of food it prefers and how far it travels to obtain food. Before a penguin can eat, it must first forage for, or locate, food and then successfully catch their prey.

Penguin Breeding
The breeding season in penguins corresponds to the time when food is at peak availability, which occurs during late spring. For breeding to be successful, a penguin must secure a nest site as well as locate and court potential mates.

Penguin Parents
Raising penguin chicks requires the contributions of both parents because young require constant food and protection. Parenting is a full time job, beginning when eggs are laid and continuing until chicks moult and fledge.

Penguin Society
Penguins often live together at the breeding ground in large groups. Group living has advantages for chicks as well as adult penguins, but also makes it hard for researchers to identify penguins since they all look alike.

Migration?
Penguins spend most of their time in the water, and some species spend as long as 6-8 months without coming onto land. Researchers study many penguin species during their breeding season, but what happens to these birds the rest of the year?