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Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) Size: 45-75 cm Body mass: 3.6-6 kg

Australia: Family Group 2 Family Group 2 Table Magpie Goose Cape Barren Goose Black Swan Plumed Whistling-Duck Wandering Whistling-Duck Spotted Whistling-Duck Blue-billed Duck Musk Duck Hardhead Australian Wood Duck Pink-eared Duck Grey Teal Chestnut Teal Garganey Australian Shelduck Radjah Shelduck Freckled Duck Pacific Black Duck Green Pygmy-Goose Cotton Pygmy-Goose Australasian Shoveler Australasian Grebe Hoary-headed Grebe Great Crested Grebe Emperor Penguin King Penguin Adelie Penguin Chinstrap Penguin Gentoo Penguin Royal Penguin Macaroni Penguin Rockhopper Penguin Little Penguin Magellanic Penguin Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Adelie Penguins are small black-and-white penguins. Their front and underwings are all-white, while the head, throat, bill, back, upperwings and tail are all black. Apart from the general black-and-white appearance, the eyes are surrounded by white eye-rings and the outer side of the otherwise black flippers has a narrow white trailing edge. Their irises are light grey-blue. The legs and feet are greyish pink. Juvenile Adelie Penguins have a white chin/throat.

Taxonomy, classification See Adelie Penguin at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Adelie Penguin is available HERE . Adelie Penguins live around the fringes of the Antarctic continent and on some offshore islands. In Australia, Adelie Penguins can be found on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean and sometimes in Tasmania. Adelie Penguins are non-flying pelagic birds that spend most of their time out in the open ocean and in coastal waters. Penguins can also spend much of their time on ice.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting Adelie Penguins on the Windmill Islands, Antarctica, in December 1993. M. Mearns reports spotting Adelie Penguins on the Antarctic continent in January 2005. Other photos shown below were taken by C. Pears between southern South America and the Antarctic Peninsula in January 2025.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Pair of Adelie Penguins at their nest (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a stained Adelie Penguin looking sideways (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Near-frontal view of adult Adelie Penguins (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Near-lateral view of a stained Adelie Penguin (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Adelie Penguins on an ice float (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Adelie Penguins close to their most dreaded enemy - a Leopard Seal (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Adelie Penguins on the edge of the continental ice shelf, with an iceberg floating by in the background
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Adelie Penguins waiting for an opening to appear for them to dive into the sea without being crushed by ice
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Adelie Penguins swimming out to sea (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of Adelie Penguins; the bird on the right is a juvenile; note the white chin (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Overview of an Adelie Penguin rookery (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Oct - Feb

Eggs: 2

Incubation period: 32 - 34 days

Fledging age: 50 - 60 days

Sometimes only one egg is laid.

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Bowl

Material: Rocks

Height above ground: N/A

Nests are bowls in rock mounds heaped up by the birds.

"Change of the Guard" at an Adelie Penguin nest (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Adelie Penguins at their nests, with 2 fluffy grey chicks visible under the bird in front (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Frontal view of an Adelie Penguin shielding its small all-black chick against inclement weather and predators (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

Overview of a large nesting colony of Adelie Penguins; close inspection of the photo shows that the entire top of the hill is populated by Adelie Penguins (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Overview of a large nesting colony of Adelie Penguins; close inspection of the photo shows that the entire top of the hill is populated by Adelie Penguins (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Adelie Penguins climbing the rock-strewn slope of a hill to reach their nests (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Closer view of the lower part of the Adelie Penguin colony (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Adelie Penguin with half-grown chicks in their nests (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Adelie Penguin with half-grown chicks in their nests (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Small nesting colony of Adelie Penguins (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Small nesting colony of Adelie Penguins (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 69 x 55 mm

Colour: Pale-grey

Shape: Tapered oval

Adelie Penguins on their rock nests, with eggs visible under both birds (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Windmill Islands, Antarctica, December 1993]

Behaviour

Lateral view of a small mob of Adelie Penguins on their way to go fishing (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

The way from and to an Adelie Penguin breeding colony is arduous (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

In a penguin colony, death is never far away - neither are Brown Skuas (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[January 2025]

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