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"Why are the penguins so plump? Are they about to lay eggs?" [Annika and Pierce] Is there a certain time of year that we should be looking for when gentoo lay eggs? [Nick]
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gardenmaeve
moderator
Hello, Annika, Pierce and Nick! The Gentoos in this image are in the egg brooding part of their cycle. There are breeding cycle diagrams for most species at the following link (in FAQs) as well as a FAQ thread focusing on the King penguins. I'd suggest you start there. penguin breeding cycles
As for the plumpness- Annika and Pierce, you are correct. Penguins breed and lay their eggs when they are very healthy and plump, after months of good feeding. By the time they moult the same penguins are much thinner. As soon as the new feathers push out the old ones, and they have preened to rub oil oll all over them, off they go for some more months of good feeding at sea. Then the whole cycle starts again!
Here is a link to a photograph with two eggs showing! Click here to look
That was a very good question. Thanks for helping the penguins! 😄 😄
gardenmaeve
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AvastMH
moderator
(I'll just add an 'hello' to Annika and Pierce and Nick. Nice to hear from you. 😄 )
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"Thank you! How do they get oil on their feathers?" [Annika]
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And hello Joan! We thought of you when we were at the zoo last, because we were eating lunch and we had some sparrows down at our feet and flying overhead. They were enjoying the company of some very fancy exotic birds!
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gardenmaeve
moderator
Annika- Remember when you learned about preening? The penguins have a special gland near their tail that makes the preening oil. It's called the uropygial gland (also called the preen gland 😃 ). It makes the oil, and then the penguin rubs its beak into the oily place, then carefully rubs it into every single feather to keep the cold seawater out of them. Have a look at this article and photographs showing Adelie penguins preening with oil from that gland. It's the same for all penguin species. Preening
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