Penguins live in icy waters. The Emperor Penguin, in particular faces cold weather, living in Antarctica. It faces quite a challenge: how to keep its body temperature at 100-102 degrees Fahrenheit, when the winter air it lives in may be a full 200 degrees colder!

Penguin feathers are their main defense against Antarctic cold. These bird species‘ feathers are densely packed, with up to 70 per square inch. The feathers are stiff and form a tightly-overlapping shield against wind, storms, and cold water. Under the penguin’s skin, they also have a thick layer of fat, for extra insulation. And on the coldest days at their breeding grounds, Emperor Penguins huddle together for warmth.

Penguins are so good at keeping warm that their bigger challenge is staying cool! On an above-freezing day in Antarctica, the Emperors could easily overheat, with all their thick layers of feather and fat. And some penguins live in far warmer places. The Galapagos Penguin, which lives near the equator, deals with days that are 70 degrees Fahrenheit!

How do they stay cool enough? Holding their flippers away from their body can help dissipate heat. Warmer-weather penguins like the Galapagos have bare skin patches on their face, to dissipate heat as well. These warm-weather penguins are also only found where the water temperatures are quite cool.

Related posts:

1. The Best Places to Watch Penguins
2. Sleepy Hummingbirds
3. Giant Penguin Fossils Found in South America

South America

• The Galapagos Islands are home to the Galapagos penguin. This bird lives closer to the Equator than any other penguin. They are found on the islands of Isabela, Fernandina, and Bartolome.

• Chile and Peru both have penguins living at offshore islands. Try southern Peru’s coast for the Peruvian Penguin, or the Chilean waters around Puntas Arenas for the Magellenic Penguin.

• The Falkland Islands, east of Argentina, are home to the world’s largest colonies of Rockhopper Penguins, living alongside Gentoo, King and Macaroni Penguins.

Southern Africa

• The coasts of South Africa and Namibia are the only home of the Jackass Penguin. Visitors may also glimpse a Rockhopper and King Penguin here.

Australia/New Zealand:

• Visit Stewart Island, New Zealand, for colonies of Fjordland and Little Blue Penguins.

• The entire Southern Coast of Australia gets regular visits from several penguin species, including the crested Rockhopper Penguin.

• Philip Island, in Victoria, Australia, is famous for its spectacular Little Blue Penguin show. Over a thousand wild penguins return to shore each evening, to the delight of visiting penguin watchers.

A visit to any of these exotic bird watching destinations will prove to be a memorable experience for any bird enthusiasts that love penguins whether they be found in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere! Editor’s note: Our two favorite places to watch penguins are in South Africa and in the Galapagos Islands off the Coast of Ecuador.

Related posts:

1. How Penguins Stay Warm (and cool!)
2. Flightless Birds
3. Giant Penguin Fossils Found in South America

Some birds are simply too large to fly. This includes land birds like Ostriches, Emus and Cassowaries. They do not need flight to escape predators. The Ostrich can run away, reaching speeds of 45 miles an hour. Cassowaries can defend themselves with powerful claws.

Several birds choose to swim instead of fly. Penguins, for instance, have wings evolved into narrow paddles they use to push themselves through the water. They are incredible swimmers and divers- large wings would interfere with their underwater abilities.

Many flightless birds evolved on small islands, where there are no mammal predators to fly away from. These birds include the Flightless Cormorant on the Galapagos Island, the now-extinct Dodo bird of Mauritius, many species of rails (small marsh birds), and New Zealand’s famous Kiwi birds.

These island-dwelling flightless birds are at particular risk of extinction. As humans moved onto their islands, they brought with them many mammal predators, such as housecats, mongooses and rats. Unable to escape from these new predators, several flightless birds went gone extinct.

Other flightless birds are still in danger. For instance, non-native predators reduced the Kakapo (New Zealand’s bizarre flightless parrot) to less than a hundred individual birds. Many people are now working hard to clear its home islands of non-native mammals, so that the flightless bird can recover.

Related posts:

1. The Fascinating Flightless Cassowary
2. Alien Predators Outsmarted by Birds
3. Why the Dodo Bird?