How many species of penguins are there

Main content. How many penguins are there? Southern rockhopper. Northern rockhopper. In fact, in the field of science there are more than 20 different species concepts. Royal penguin. To find the best nest site, Adelie penguins undertake the longest penguin migration on Earth. Chinstrap penguins live in the largest penguin colonies on earth. A king penguin's feathers offer a waterproof and insulating layer to keep them warm. The Little penguin lives in Australia and is the smallest penguin in the world.

The yellow-eyed penguin lives on remote islands off New Zealand. The gentoo penguin is the fastest swimming penguin, reaching 22mph. Emperor penguin chicks have to survive some of the coldest conditions on earth. These cute creatures are actually amazing divers, and have been known to plunge as deep as feet in search of food. If you imagine the markings on these penguins' head are a teeny tiny helmet, you'll understand their name.

They have a little band of black feathers that run from the black markings on top of their head, through the white underside of their chin and back up - exactly like the chinstrap of a bike helmet.

Their breeding practices could be straight from a penguin soap opera. Male chinstraps race to find the very best nests, and then wait for their mates to arrive. If a male can't find a nest to his liking, he may try to force couples who have settled in out of their nests. Once he has a nest, he'll give his mate five days to show up, and then he's moving on. If his original mate catches him with another lady however, the female penguins will fight over his affections.

It's all very dramatic. Gentoos are the speedsters of the penguin world. Although they're not strong runners, they can take off in the water: When diving, they've been known to reach speeds up to 22 miles per hour.

They spend the majority of their day hunting krill, squid and fish. These birds are slightly larger than the average penguin, but far smaller than emperors. Still, they're the third-largest penguin species and usually weigh around 12 pounds. King penguins look similarly to emperor penguins, with colorful plumage accentuating their black-and-white pattern.

It's worth noting, however, that the black of the king penguin is not as dark as other penguin species, and could possibly be described as dark gray. The second-largest species of penguin is the king penguin. King penguins are found much further north than emperor penguins, and they only spend part of the year on Antarctica itself. They breed in large colonies, but may leave the chicks unattended during winter.

It is during this time that many King penguins can be found traveling to the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula. There are 18 species of penguins, 5 of which live in Antarctica. Another 4 species live on sub-Antarctic islands. Why live in Antarctica? How many people? Chinstrap penguins are named for the narrow black band under their heads.

The largest of the penguin species, emperor penguins breed during the worst weather conditions on earth. King penguins are the second largest penguin and are close relatives of the emperor penguin. Macaroni penguins have a circumpolar distribution, generally on sub-Antarctic islands.

Southern rockhopper penguins.