Bird Guide

Adelie Penguin

Pygoscelis adeliae

Least ConcernInvertebratesMarineScrapeHuge · 4.8 kg

About the Adelie Penguin

The Adélie penguin is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent. It is the most widespread penguin species in the Antarctic, and, along with the emperor penguin, is the most southerly distributed of all penguins. It is named after Adélie Land, in turn, named for Adèle Dumont d'Urville, who was married to French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who first discovered this penguin in 1840. Adélie penguins obtain their food by both predation and foraging, with a diet of mainly krill and fish.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

The Adélie penguin is a mid-sized bird, measuring 70–73 cm (28–29 in) in length and weighing 3.8 to 8.2 kg (8.4 to 18.1 lb). Although the sexes look the same, females have shorter wings and beaks and weigh significantly less. The adult is black on the head, throat and upper parts, with snowy white underparts. It has a conspicuous white eye ring around a black iris. The beak is largely covered with black feathers, leaving only the tip exposed; this is primarily black, though it can show indistinct reddish-brown markings.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What the Adelie Penguin sounds like

Recording: Stella Zhang · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

When to see the Adelie Penguin

Peak activity in January · a summer visitor species across most of its range

Easily confused with

Learn the Adelie Penguin in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.