Many ornithologists separate the king penguin into two separate species, the Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus, and the A. patagonicus halli. But many other ornithologists think this distinction is unnecessary. King penguins are the second biggest penguin after the emperor penguins. The king penguins and the emperor are often confused for each other, but the emperor penguin is less colorful and about 25% taller than the king penguin (who can get around three feet), and it weighs about 1/3rd more. Male and female penguins look almost the same, but the male is slightly larger, and their calls are different. The king penguin has dark silver-grey feathers on its back and white feathers on its front and underside. They also have bright orange feathers on their ear patch, at the top of their chest, and orange on their lower bill. Breeding populations are found at the northern reaches of Antarctica, subantarctic islands, as well as in southern South America. They can stay warm in cold climates because they have four levels of feathering and the last layer is oiled and waterproof. You may think of penguins as wattlers, but they often slide on the stomachs propelled by their feet. This is called tobogganing, and it’s much faster than wattling.

Penguins spend a lot of time in the sea to forage for food, so luckily, they can hold their breaths for 20 minutes. They often dive over 100 meters and have been seen diving at over 300 meters. This is much further than other penguin species, not including the emperor penguin. 80% of their diet is fish, except in the winter when it’s only 30%. They enjoy lantern fish, which are small and bio-luminescent. They also eat squid often, and they rely less on Krills and other crustaceans than most seabirds. Sea lions and killer whales prey on adult king penguins, and predatory seabirds like skuas tend to take eggs and chicks.

It takes anywhere from 14-16 months for a parent king penguin to raise a chick from an egg to an adult. Since this takes so long, species either breed twice every three years or every other year. The timing of when the egg is laid depends on if the adult was successful in breeding the previous season. King penguins don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re at least four, but the vast majority starts breeding at ages 5-6. The male will engage in ecstatic display to court with a female. He will make a trumpet call and raise his neck to appear as tall as possible. After that, the pair will shake their heads or throw them back and down to their chests. They will stay together for the rest of the breeding season, and about a third of them will breed together again next season.

Once the pear-shaped white egg is laid, the parents will incubate it for about 54 days. They will take turns carrying it on their feet underneath their “brood patch”. They switch off every six to eighteen days. Once the egg is hatched, it is still carried by the parent for about a month (sometimes over) and fed. The chicks come in dark brown down. At this time, the father is the first to take care of it as the female has gone for food. She’ll come back in around 21 days to switch off. After this period, the chick is bigger, and for the remaining 313 days, it will be with the other young. They form groups, called créches, where they can remain safe, and only a few adult birds look after them. They do look around though, the chicks are curious. Their parents are now foraging for extended periods. Their parents occasionally feed them, as their chicks can go 3-5 months between feeding. The parents slightly digest and then regurgitate food into their chick’s mouths for feeding. The chicks grow a lot in the spring and summer months, and by the end of the 313 days, they can forage for food on their own.

King penguins help out their fellow king penguins, and they stay in large colonies. If there’s a particularly cold day, you will see the penguins huddling up together and increasing their temperatures through shared body heat. This works so well because there are tens of thousands of penguins in a colony. King penguins are also nice to humans and don’t mind if they’re somewhat close, as long as they’re on the outskirts of the colony. They can live up to 25 years in the wild and up to 41.

In conclusion, penguins are cute, docile, and complicated birds, and that’s why humans love them.