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Gentoo PenguinSize: 50-90 cm Weight: 5-8.5 kg (male), 4.5-8.2 kg (female) |
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Similar |
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Photos |
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Close-up portrait of a Gentoo Penguin (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
Frontal view of a Gentoo Penguin (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Near-frontal view of Gentoo Penguin
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
Dorsal view of a Gentoo Penguin (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
Gentoo Penguin telling the photographer to get out of the way
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Gentoo Penguin waving with one of its flippers
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
Gentoo Penguins swimming back to shore, presumably bringing food
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Direct comparison between a Gentoo Penguin back, and an Adelie Penguin, front
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: ca. Dec - Feb | Eggs: 2 | Incubation period: 34 -36 days | Fledging age: ca. 30 days |
Gentoo Penguin chicks leave their nests at about 30 days of age. They then form "creches" or rookeries, before they go out to sea at an age of ca. 80-100 days.
Nest building: Female & male | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
Male and female Gentoo Penguins incubate alternatingly, each bird staying on the nest one day at a time, while the other leaves in search of food.
Overview of part of a large Gentoo Penguin breeding colony
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Walking tracks of Gentoo Penguins to their breeding colony
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Walking track of Gentoo Penguins to a small breeding colony;
note the steepness of the slope close to the water's edge
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Bowl | Material: Rocks | Height above ground: N/A |
Gentoo Penguin nests can be substantial rock piles, formed into a shallow depression into which the eggs are laid.
Gentoo Penguins on their rock nests (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Gentoo Penguins on their rock nests (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 65 x 55 mm | Colour: White, off-white | Shape: Oval |