photo: NASA.gov

Description: Measuring about 28 inches in length, and weighing about ten pounds, the Adelie Penguin has a black head, neck, back, sides, and tail. Its tail is somewhat longer than other penguin species. The breast and underparts are white. The Adelie Penguin has a conspicuous white eye ring and a dark red bill. Males and females are identical. Adelie Penguins are powerful swimmers and can leap straight from the water onto land. They often move about the ice by sliding on their bellies.

Diet: The Adelie Penguin feeds on squid, krill, and fish.

Range: The Adelie Penguin is one of two penguins that breed on the Antarctic mainland. It breeds along the entire perimeter of the Antarctic continent.

Nesting: Adelie Penguins arrive on their breeding grounds of rocky, ice-free beaches in October. Nests are simple piles of stones. The female lays two greenish eggs in December (the warmest time in the Antarctic summer). Usually, only one chick will survive. Both parents share incubation duties. The incubating parent does not eat, while the other parent gorges itself in the sea. The Adelie Penguin breeds in huge colonies that contain up to tens of thousands of birds.

Status: The Adelie Penguin is common and widespread throughout Antarctica. Estimates have indicated over 2.5 million breeding pairs.