FAQ - 5th Behaviour in penguins: courting, nesting, mating, incubation, chick raising, moulting
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by
yshish
moderator, translator
5.1 Pebble carrying, courting, ecstatic display, mating
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Usually males return first to the old nest and attract their females, using pebbles or other nesting material instead of flowers 😉
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Bowing down and trembling heads together over the nest is a way of courting.
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When a penguin finds a partner they usually stay loyal to each other for the rest of their lives. Although divorces are not rare, most will look for their previous partner after coming back from sea every year. They recognize each other by their calls, known as ‘ecstatic display’. They use such calls for strengthening their bond or finding each other in large colonies.
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This is what mating behaviour looks like.
Mating Chinstrap penguins
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by
yshish
moderator, translator
5.2 Nesting, incubation, chick breeding, crèches, moulting
- Once eggs are laid females usually trade nest duty with males and go to the sea to feed themselves. Afterwards, both males and females take turns incubating the eggs/chicks.
- For a short time after hatching chicks are unable to stay warm in the nest alone. You may spot them huddling under one of the parents (usually the father) as fluffy grey/brown blobs. They are fed by their parents.
- As chicks grow up, they become able to regulate their temperature. Finally, both parents can then leave their nests and forage for food in the sea. In the meantime, chicks form crèches (flocks) guarded just by a few adults. Such flocks help to protect them from bad weather and predators
A Brown skua watching a crèche of Gentoo juveniles.
- At the end of the breeding season, both chicks and adults moult their feathers. Adults moult to keep the insulation and waterproof qualities of their feathers, chicks to become adults. It happens approximately at the same time. It is difficult to tell them apart at this time. Please, as long as you can see chick features on them mark them as chicks. Otherwise we mark all moulting penguins as adults.
- When unsure, mark it as adult too.
Image example of moulting adult Chinstrap penguins.
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