Grey "chick" under wing?
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The penguin nesting one top left from the middle has a grey speckled area under his/her wing. Is this a chick or...?
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by
gardenmaeve
moderator
Hi, Rebecca_Leesat . By January 12, there are chicks, but they are very small and need protection under the parent's brood patch. This is penguin poo shot out from a neighbor, making a mucky mess on the penguin you noticed. There is a lot of penguin poo in any nesting area.
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AvastMH
moderator
Hi Rebecca, I think I see the one you mean...is it this one sitting in the middle?
if I'm right it's just poop on that bird's wing.
They poop sitting down when they are looking after eggs. that means that the poop flies out at high pressure to get it well away form the nest. They sit close together - guess what? That means that they sometimes poop on each other. this poop is white so the perpetrator had been eating fish. If they eat krill (like small shrimp) the poop is red and then it looks like the other penguin has blood on it. Who knew that penguin poop could be so interesting? Of course the best thing is that is shows that these penguins ARE finding enough dinner.
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