Life+Cycle

Penguins are very social birds. Their nesting areas can sometimes contain up to thousands of individual birds. Even at sea, they tend to swim and feed in groups.

Female penguins lay eggs after mating. Most species of penguins build nests, except for emperor penguins.

Male emperor penguins hold the egg on top of their feet under a fold of skin called a brood patch (featured in the video on the habitat page). Penguin chicks have big appetites and grow quickly, they become almost as big as their parents in a very short time. Penguin chicks are only dependant on their parents for only a very short part of their lives.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PENGUIN LIFECYCLE COLOURING IN PAGE  //this link will open in a new window//