Penguin Watch Talk

Adults and young

  • Cherrypop by Cherrypop

    This is my first attempt to count penguins. I am not 100 percent sure I can identify adults from young especially when they are in the distance. Any advice please?

    Posted

  • gardenmaeve by gardenmaeve moderator

    Excellent question, @Cherrypop. Most important, anytime you are not sure, mark it as an adult.

    I urge you to read the FAQs carefully, and look at them again when you're not sure what to do.
    Pay special attention to the information about breeding cycles for each species- if it's October you know there will only be adults, for the first chicks hatch out weeks later.

    Second, notice what the adults of each species look like. The penguin specis photos at the bottom of your Classification screen are just reminders what they each look like. These are Gentoos for example. You never need to tell us what species they are (we know!) but it helps for you to know because that tells you what they should look like when adult.

    A Gentoo adult will have that bright white flash mark on the top of the head. Gentoo chicks hatch out in grey down with a dark head. As they grow they look like grey cushions, and gradually you'll see white down also on their tummies. When Gentoo chicks are nearly grown up they'll have the start of a white headflash, but it will still be fuzzy, not crisp white. Finally, they moult, adults and chicks alike, and all are considered adult when the moult is finished- all will then have clean black and white waterproof feathers and they will all go to sea.

    You will pick up many more helpful hints by studying the FAQs and by looking at the comments and replies in the Recent section.

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