Research+Birds+in+Cold+Deserts

**Adeline, Chinstrap, Gentoo, Macaroni, and twice as much info on the Emperor penguins** 
 * Penguin Info.


 * Penguins are unique birds in that they do not fly.** Their wings are discovered as swimming flippers by their wing bones being flattened and rather soli joined so that they are very useful for swimming (up to 30 miles per hour). Penguins often look like they are flying when seen underwater. ||
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 * Most penguins spend the most of their life at sea and return to land to give birth.** Getting to and from their giving birth area are called rookeries on land can be quite a walk but when there is snow to travel, they often sled downhill to make quick escapes.  || 

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 * **On land, penguins walk (often in straight lines) to and from the ocean** between their nesting colonies and their feeding areas in the ocean (left). These trips can be only a little hundred yards over rocky beaches (like the picture above left) or they can be miles in land, often over snow and ice. Penguins want to follow the same paths to and from the ocean to feed and bath. When there is snow in their path they leave footprints (right). ||
 * **Most penguin species spend the year at sea without staying with their mate,** returning each summer to their original breeding areas. And often to their original mate. The numbers of Antarctic penguins has been increasing over the years, a result perhaps of the decrease (from whaling) in the number of baleen whales visiting Antarctica. Without so many baleen whales (krill eaters) visiting Antarctica the krill population has increased and there is more food than ever before for the Antarctic penguins. || 

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 * || **There are 17 species of penguins on Earth**, six of which can be found in Antarctica - three brush-tailed, (genus //Pygoscelis//) - the Adelie, chinstrap, and gentoo; one crested (genus //Eudyptes//) - the macaroni; and two species of //Aptenodytes// - the king and emperor. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> ||

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Adelie Penguins <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Adelie penguin. (right) Adelie penguin rookery.** ||
 * **The Adelie penguin (//Pygoscelis adeliae//)** was named after the wife of one of the early Antarctic explorers (Dumont D'Urville). This small penguin (rarely over 11 pounds) nests on rocky areas that are free of snow in the summer. Adults return to the same rookery (nesting area) where they were born and build nests out of pebbles. The giving of pebbles to the female by the male is part of the nesting courtship. Nesting pairs may stay together for six years although each year about half the birds change their mate. Eggs are laid in November and chicks hatch in December. The females lay two eggs and the parents take turns incubating the eggs. When they hatch they are fed by the parents who take turns both feeding and watching the chicks very closely for their first several weeks. Unattended chicks are vulnerable to predators, especially the Skua. The rookeries are busy places as parents attend their chicks keeping them well fed, protected, and their nests in order. Nearby there is always a line of penguins coming to and from the ocean as the parents take turns leaving the rookery to feed on krill, returning to either incubate the eggs or feed the growing babies. The nests are quickly stained with pink guano (from the pink krill that they are feeding on). ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Adelie penguin incubating an egg. (right) Adelie penguin feeding its chick regurgitated krill.** ||
 * **The Adelies have an all black head.** After only four weeks, the chicks molt their charcoal downy coat and grow the dense, waterproof feathers that allow them to leave the rookery and begin their lives feeding for themselves. ||

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Chinstrap Penguins <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> ||
 * **With a distinctive thin black stripe under their chin**, the chinstrap penguin resembles the numerous Adelie penguins but is easily distinguished by their "chinstrap." These penguins also feed on krill. They are scientifically named //Pygoscelis Antarctica//. Their chicks take about nine weeks before they are ready to go to sea. Chinstraps are more aggressive than the Adelies in their breeding behavior. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Chinstrap penguin. (right) Brood patch exposed on chinstrap parent.** ||
 * **The males occupy the rookeries first,** the dominant males selecting the best breeding sites and driving away other, less aggressive birds. If the previous year's mate does not arrive within five days, the male will mate with another female. Should the previous year's female arrive late then there may be a fight between the females with the strongest female winning. Chinstrap nests resemble Adelie nests with the pebbles piled up by the couple. The female, in preparation for egg laying, makes a depression in the middle of the nest. This pebble nest serves to keep the eggs off the ground and allow melt water to run through. There is such a small window of time for breeding that the arriving penguins must build their nests immediately when they arrive, they can only use bare ground. If the snow melt is late then the areas for nest building are restricted. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Chinstrap egg hatching - notice the crack. (right) Baby chinstrap emerging from egg.** ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Chinstrap penguin chicks. (right) Chinstrap parent feeding chick.** ||

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 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Gentoo Penguins <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> ||
 * **The colorful orange bill (and white spot on the head) of the gentoo penguin,** //Pygoscelis papua//, sets them apart from other penguin species. Their breeding habits are similar to Adelies and chinstraps - they return to the same rookeries each year, building nests of pebbles on bare ground, and laying two eggs. The chicks are ready to go to sea at eight weeks but they return each evening to be fed by their parents for an additional two weeks. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**Gentoo penguin rookery.** ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) A gentoo male presenting his female with a precious rock for their nest. (right) Gentoo parent incubating an egg.** ||
 * **It is only in good years that the majority of mating brush tails are able to successfully raise two healthy chicks**. During their short reproductive time, during the summer, there may be the occasional summer snow storm creating additional melt water and problems for the parents trying to keep their eggs and babies warm and dry. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Gentoo parent with a newly hatched chick. (right) Gentoo parent with two nearly grown chicks.** ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**Gentoo parent feeding a chick. These healthy chicks are only weeks from being on their own. Note the bulging crop on the second chick!** ||
 * **A snow field may separate the rookery from the ocean** so the parents actually create "trails" in the snow as they walk to and from their nests, the parents taking turns caring for the babies and bringing food. Gentoos have typical penguin feet, well adapted to walking over rough rocky terrain and snow. Their tough, fat feet have sharp nails for clinging to rock and digging into the snow. This species is different than other brush tail penguins in that the mated pairs usually stay together throughout the year. They are also a little bigger and shyer than other brush tails. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) 'Penguin trails' through the snow - from the ocean to the rookery. (right) Penguin feet are callused and tough for walking through snow and on rocks.** ||

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="DISPLAY: none; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hide: all"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Macaroni Penguins <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> ||
 * **The largest of the crested penguins**, the macaroni penguin, //Eudyptes chrysolophus//, has distinctive yellow feathers along its brow. This species was named after a group of flamboyant dressing men (often with dyed hair) of the 1700s who traveled from England to Italy (and ate pasta) and were called 'Macaroni Dandies'. Do you remember the children's song called Yankee Doodle <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'DejaVu LGC Sans Mono'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'DejaVu LGC Sans Mono'">� <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni"? ||
 * **The nesting behavior of macaronis is uniquely different** than the brushtail penguins. Although they have the same pebble nests, this species usually rears only one chick each season but lays two eggs. The first egg is smaller and darker than the second egg. It is pushed aside and usually does not develop although it is fertile. This purposeful waste of energy does not appear to have any adaptive value for this species. This macaroni chick came from the larger egg. There is no trace of the smaller, darker egg - probably having been eaten by marauding brown skua birds. ||
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">**(left) Macaroni penguin incubating the second egg. (right) Macaroni penguin chick.** ||

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Emperor Penguins <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> ||
 * **The largest of the penguins on Earth**, the emperor penguin, //Aptenodytes forsteri//, stands almost four feet high. Although these birds are very large, they have very unusual reproductive habits - they breed in the middle of the Antarctic winter, the most violent weather known on Earth. Other Antarctic penguins breed during the Antarctic summer, building pebble nests on the few rocky headlands available when the snow melts back. Most emperors breed on sea ice, often walking miles inland on the ice. There is no nest for the emperors, the female lays a single egg and it is immediately taken by the male, put on top of his feet, and he snuggles down over it and incubates it. The females leave the males to do all the incubation during the two months of egg development. The males rock back on their heels (to keep the greatest surface area of their feet off the ice) and huddle together for protection during the fierce Antarctic winter storms. They can lose almost 1/5 of their body weight during this time but they wait patiently for the return of their mate. The females return right when the chicks hatch just in time to relieve the male and feed the newborn regurgitated krill. The weak males then return to the ocean, feed and come back to begin taking turns with their mate.


 * The emperors go back and forth between the ice rookery and the ocean** until their baby is ready to be on its own. In very cold years the distance to the ocean may be considerable and make it difficult for the emperors - which often results in poor reproductive years. In abnormally warm years the sea ice can break up and melt before the chicks are ready and this also results in reproductive catastrophes. All in all, the emperor penguin has picked the time and place of the worst weather on Earth to breed and has become successfully adapted. It is speculated that the time it takes to fledge such a large bird could not be accomplished during the Antarctic summer and so their winter reproduction puts their chicks ready to be on their own at the height of the Antarctic summer - during the big krill bloom and thus with abundant food. This may be the most important reason for the male emperors waiting out the two months of solid darkness, in the wild Antarctic storms just to incubate their single egg. Also, there are virtually no predators during the Antarctic winter to interfere with the reproductive process - oh, but what they put up with to achieve this is heroic.

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 * Not a single emperor penguin was sited** during the author's trip because the trip was during the Antarctic summer so there are no images of emperors in this presentation. ||

Emperor penguins are truly amazing birds. They not only survive the Antarctica winter, but they are capable o0f breeding during the worst weather conditions on earth. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> The emperor is the largest of the 17 penguin species growing up to 1.15m tall and weighing up to 40kg. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> There emperor penguin colonies are distributed right around the Antarctica continent. Most of the known colonies are located in the east Antarctica. Emperor usually no frozen sea and link their breeding cycle to the annual setting and breaking up of the ice. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Emperor penguins are near the top of the southern Ocean’s food chain. They eat fish, squid and krill, which are also harvested by man. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Emperor’s penguins are the deepest divers of any bird. They often dive to about 250m and last an average 3-6 minutes. They seem so clumsy on land but when they are in water; 9their shape gives them great agility. The6y are also very strong birds and there strength e and agility make them very effective predators. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #548dd4; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153">Special adaptations to the cold <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> Nature has provided the emperor with excellent blubber to keep warm <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">in Antarctica <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Snap ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">in the form of several layers of scale-like feathers and it takes very strong wind’s (over 60 knot’s) to get them ruffled. They have a very small bill and flippers which conserves heat that is normally lost during exhalation. Emperor penguins have large reserves of energy- giving body fat and a low level of activity during the winter.

**Ptarmigans**

By Grace

Ptarmigans are a game bird in the grouse family. There are two different types of them. The Willow ptarmigan and the rock ptarmigan.They breed across the arctic, Europe, Asia, North America and Greenland. Their diet is birch, willow buds, catkins, various seeds, leaves, flowers and berries. The ptarmigans having to breed in the arctic would have some adaptations. Here are some of them: · On it’s feet, there are short feathers to help it walk through the snow. · The ptarmigans also grow feathers on the bottoms of their feet which help them not sink into the snow. · It’s feathers change color depending on what season it is. Like in the summer and spring, it’s feathers are brown. In the winter, it’s feathers are white. · A ptarmigan’s white feathers give out less heat into the freezing air than dark feathers would. · To get ready for winter, ptarmigans collect and store food. · To escape the cold winds, the willow ptarmigan flies and dives into some soft snow. It does this because it traps heat coming from the ground in the hole to keep itself warm. No predators can come inside because there are no footprints.

Snowy Owl By Grace The Snowy Owl is a bird that breeds in the arctic from May to July. It is about 53 to 65cm long and it’s wingspan is about 125 to 150 cm long. The Snowy Owl’s diet is lemmings and other rodents. Now, the arctic is a place that is always cold so it has adaptations to living there. The male snowy owl has feathers that are pure snow white that help it blend into the ice so none of its predators (arctic fox, arctic wolfs and humans) can eat or kill it. As for the female, she has specks of brown in her feathers to blend into the rocks. All Snowy Owls have two sets of feathers that it will shed in the summer when it gets a little bit hotter. It will also have enough fat to survive the weather but when food is scarce, it will use leftover fat from the summer. When a Snowy Owl is going to build its nest, it will build it on slightly raised ground, because otherwise it’s ground enemies will eat the Snowy Owl’s babies. When temperatures plunge, Snowy Owls will not fly because of how much energy it takes up. When you get cold, you would probably do some exercise, but Snowy Owls just stand still to keep warm. Go figure!