Emperor Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is a legendary penguin found in 2 countries, weighing about 33.6 kg. The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and lives exclusively in Antarctica.
About the Emperor Penguin
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and lives exclusively in Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 100 cm (39 in) in length and weighing from 22 to 45 kg. Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Adult emperor penguins are 110–120 cm (43–47 in) in length, averaging 115 cm (45 in). Due to the method of bird measurement that measures length between bill to tail, sometimes body length and standing height are confused, and some reported height even reaching 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall. There are still more than a few papers mentioning that they reach a standing height of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) instead of body length. Although standing height of emperor penguin is rarely provided at scientific reports, Prévost (1961) recorded 86 wild individuals and measured maximum height of 1.08 m (3 ft 7 in). Voice: As the species has no fixed nesting sites that individuals can use to locate their own partner or chick, emperor penguins must rely on vocal sounds alone for identification. They use a complex set of calls that are critical to individual recognition between mates, parents and offspring, displaying the widest variation in individual calls of all penguin species.
What the Emperor Penguin sounds like
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, December, with peak activity in January. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify an Emperor Penguin?
- Adult emperor penguins are 110–120 cm (43–47 in) in length, averaging 115 cm (45 in). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is an Emperor Penguin?
- The Emperor Penguin is a huge sized bird weighing about 33.6 kg.
- Where can you see an Emperor Penguin?
- The Emperor Penguin occurs in 2 countries, including and undefined.
- What does an Emperor Penguin sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Emperor Penguin on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to an Emperor Penguin?
- The Emperor Penguin is most easily confused with the King Penguin.
- Is the Emperor Penguin endangered?
- The Emperor Penguin is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Emperor Penguin for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery 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.