Life[change | change source]
Penguins eat krill, fish, squid, and other small animals from the ocean, which they catch. They are at home in the ocean. They come up on the land or ice to lay their eggs and raise the chicks. They don't eat there because they live in places where the land has no food for them. In most species the birds all nest together in a huge group, called a rookery. They usually make nests on the ground with rocks or mud.
Most penguins lay two eggs per year but emperor penguins lay only one. After the penguins mate, the mother lays her egg or eggs and soon goes in the ocean to eat. The father and mother take turns keeping the eggs warm, and of the chicks after they hatch. The parent on baby duty has nothing to eat. The time one parent is alone with the eggs or chicks and going hungry may be weeks or months depending on what kind of penguin they are.
Physiology[change | change source]
Penguins cannot taste fish. This was discovered when a research team noticed they were missing some key genes for taste.[1] A closer look at the DNA of penguins showed that all species lack functioning genes for the receptors of sweet, umami, and bitter tastes. It doesn't matter to them, because they swallow the fish whole, without chewing.