The Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is one of the most familiar and common Antarctic penguin species. Smaller in size than all the other species of penguins, Adelies are named after the wife of the French polar explorer, Dumont d’Urville. They can be found living in huge colonies on rocky coasts, islands, ice floes, beaches, and headlands along the coastline of Antarctica.
It is not uncommon to see thousands of penguins waddling and sliding comically to the edge of the water and dive headlong into the freezing Antarctic waters. No doubt Adelie penguins are powerful swimmers and are able to jump straight out of the water onto the land. They can also be spotted sledding downhill on their bellies.
Adelies have the classic penguin look with their white ‘tuxedo shirt’ front, black backs, wings and head, and the white rings around their eyes. Their beaks are reddish in color with a black tip. These penguins can grow to heights of up to 61cm and on an average weigh 4 to 5.5kg. Both the sexes have similar plumage.
As mentioned before, Adelie penguins form large colonies, some of which have over 200,000 pairs of birds. The breeding takes place on rocky islands and coasts, a perfect place for each mating pair to build a nest out of stones and pebbles. Around early November the female lays just two light-green eggs. Both the male and female take turns incubating the egg. However, the female takes the first turn to go back to the sea to forage for food. Meanwhile the male is left to take care of the egg, sometimes for up to ten days.
The eggs hatch after about 5 weeks, and for the first few weeks, the chicks are brooded closely by their parents. The chicks grow quickly matching the size of their parents in a matter of a few weeks. Adelie chicks grow the fastest of all penguins.
By the third or fourth week, they are introduced into nursery groups called ‘crèches.’ Here they huddle with other chicks for warmth and protection, leaving the parents free to go to sea to hunt krill (a shrimp-like crustacean) to keep up with their young ones’ appetite. When the parents return with food from the sea, they don’t simply hand it over to their chick. They make the chick chase them and catch the food. By late March, most of the chicks are able to swim. The Adelies then depart for the pack ice and the sea.
