Penguin Facts For Kids

Penguins are super cool birds! They can't fly in the air, but they're amazing swimmers. These adorable birds waddle on land and zoom through the water like torpedoes. Want to learn some awesome penguin facts?

Quick Facts About Penguins

Type: Bird (but can\'t fly!)
Diet: Carnivore (fish and squid)
Size: 16 inches to 4 feet tall
Weight: 2 to 90 pounds
Lifespan: 15-20 years
Where They Live: Antarctica and cold southern areas
Baby Name: Chick
Group Name: Colony or rookery

What Do Penguins Look Like?

Penguins are easy to recognize! Most penguins wear a "tuxedo" - they have black backs and white bellies. This cool coloring helps protect them. From above, their black backs blend in with the dark ocean. From below, their white bellies blend in with the bright sky!

Penguins have flippers instead of wings. These flippers are perfect for swimming but can't be used for flying. They use their flippers like underwater wings to "fly" through the water!

On land, penguins waddle from side to side. Their short legs are positioned far back on their bodies, which makes walking look funny. But it's great for swimming! Sometimes penguins slide on their bellies instead of walking. This is called "tobogganing" and it's much faster!

There are 18 different types of penguins. The smallest is the Little Blue Penguin, about 16 inches tall. The biggest is the Emperor Penguin, standing almost 4 feet tall - as tall as a first grader!

Where Do Penguins Live?

Most penguins live in very cold places! Many live in Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth. But not all penguins live on ice!

Some penguins live in warmer places like South Africa, Australia, and South America. The Galapagos Penguin even lives near the equator where it's quite warm!

Penguins always live in the Southern Hemisphere (the bottom half of Earth). You'll never find wild penguins at the North Pole - that's where polar bears live!

Penguins spend a lot of time in the ocean. They're excellent swimmers and can stay underwater for several minutes. Emperor Penguins can dive deeper than 1,800 feet - that's deeper than the tallest building!

What Do Penguins Eat?

Penguins are carnivores. That means they eat meat, not plants. They hunt for their food in the ocean!

What's on the penguin menu?

Fish (their favorite!)
Squid
Krill (tiny shrimp-like creatures)
Small octopuses
Crustaceans

Penguins are amazing hunters! They can swim up to 22 miles per hour when chasing fish. That's faster than most people can run on land!

Emperor Penguins can hold their breath for over 20 minutes while hunting underwater. That's longer than it takes to watch your favorite cartoon!

Penguins don't need to drink water. They get all the water they need from the fish they eat. Their bodies are designed to filter out salt from seawater!

Baby Penguins

Baby penguins are called chicks. They're super cute and covered in fluffy gray or brown feathers!

Different penguins have different parenting styles. Emperor Penguins have the most amazing story! The female lays one egg and then leaves to hunt. The male penguin keeps the egg warm on his feet for two whole months without eating anything! He huddles with thousands of other penguin dads to stay warm in freezing temperatures.

When Emperor Penguin chicks hatch, they're only about the size of a tennis ball! The father feeds the chick a special food from his throat until the mother returns from the ocean.

Most other penguins lay two eggs. Both parents take turns keeping the eggs warm and hunting for food.

Penguin chicks stay in nurseries called crèches (say: KRESH). All the baby penguins huddle together while their parents hunt. It's like a penguin daycare!

Young penguins have fuzzy down feathers. Before they can swim, they must grow their waterproof adult feathers. This takes several months.

Parent penguins recognize their own chick by its unique call. Even in a group of thousands of chicks, parents can find their baby!

Why Are Penguins Special?

Penguins are designed with amazing abilities! They're birds that swim instead of fly. They can survive in some of the coldest places on Earth. They're caring parents who work together as a team.

These incredible birds show us how animals can adapt to live in extreme environments. Scientists love studying penguins to learn more about ocean life and cold climates!

Some penguin species need our help. Ocean pollution and changing temperatures affect their food supply. Many people work hard to protect penguins and their homes.

Cool Facts About Penguins!

Penguins can't fly in the air, but they can "fly" underwater! They use their flippers to swim just like birds use wings to fly.
Emperor Penguins can dive deeper than any other bird - over 1,800 feet down! That's as deep as six football fields stacked on top of each other!
Penguins have a special gland that filters salt out of their blood. They sneeze out the extra salt!
Their feathers are super special! Penguins have more feathers per square inch than most other birds - about 100 feathers in one small area. This keeps them warm in freezing water.
Penguins can drink seawater! Most animals can't do this because salt water would make them sick.
Gentoo Penguins are the fastest swimmers - they can zoom through water at 22 mph!
Penguins molt (lose their feathers) once a year. During this time, they can't swim, so they stay on land and don't eat for weeks!
Emperor Penguins can survive temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit. They huddle together in groups of thousands to stay warm!
Each penguin has a unique call! Parents and chicks can find each other in a crowd of thousands just by their voices!
Penguins have excellent eyesight underwater. They can see clearly even in dark, murky water!