Do Penguins Fly? | Penguin 101

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We get this question a lot at the Aquarium: "Do penguins fly? They're a bird, right?" And the answer is: "Yes, penguins fly—but not through the air!" Penguins are expert swimmers and use their paddle-like wings to fly through the water. Penguins are shaped like a football and extremely hydrodynamic, allowing them to slip through the sea fast enough to catch their fishy prey! Aviculturst Kim breaks down these amazing avian adaptations for a life spent mostly in the water. _____ A staff and fan favorite, these stout little birds are endlessly entertaining as they preen, feed, sleep, waddle and swim. For a penguin, almost 75% of its life can be spent in the water—and that means having adaptations to do so successfully. Because these birds feed mainly on slippery schooling fish, they need to be faster than the food they're trying to catch. Rigid front flippers are a penguin's powerhouse, forcefully propelling them through the water like little tuxedoed torpedoes. A streamlined, fusiform body shape reduces drag, and keeps penguins hydrodynamic. To further reduce drag, penguins have short, interlocking feathers—unlike the long, wide feathers of their airborne cousins, meant to catch the wind. These feathers also work to insulate and waterproof, keeping penguins warm in their native chilly waters. On land, they face the opposite problem; they can overheat in hot sun. To keep their cool, they pant and pump blood to parts of their bodies with less insulation—their wings, faces an

Published 2019-02-21 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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