Penguin Watch Talk

Chicks

  • Enya4 by Enya4 translator

    How come we often see king chicks but few chicks from other penguin species? Is it a question of location, season?

    Posted

  • gardenmaeve by gardenmaeve moderator

    King penguins, along with some other penguin species, nest in huge colonies, so we will see more chicks at the right season. Very tiny King chicks are hidden beneath the parents' belly flap, so it's quite rare to see them, or the single egg each mated pair broods. In fact, we have had many more chick views of other species, since the project cameras are most often not set up in the regions where Kings raise their chicks.

    You are correct that the time of year, species, and location will determine when we see chicks of any penguin species in the project. I'd say we've seen chicks quite often during the course of this project. Keep watching, and please mark only what you are certain about- supported by the great FAQ section! Thanks for your work.

    Posted

  • yshish by yshish moderator, translator in response to Enya4's comment.

    Also, king penguins breed chicks during the whole year unlike other penguin species we monitor. As explained in the FAQs under 4.2. Penguin species, chicks or adults, breeding cycles, it takes 14-16 months to court, lay an egg and raise a chick in King penguins. Most pairs raise a chick just twice in a period of three years as a result. So you will see chicks of different ages all together. In this extended breeding period, early breeders start in November, late breeders start in January.

    Other penguin species we monitor raise chicks once a year, and the period of chick raising takes usually about two months only (from hatching to moulting).

    Posted