African Penguin fame

A new bird recently added to Birdorable is the African Penguin. The African Penguin lives on the southwest coast of Africa. The species is also called Black-footed Penguin and is the only species of penguin to breed in Africa. African Penguins have pink glands around their eyes which become darker or lighter depending on how hot the bird is feeling. Dark glands indicate the bird is hot; more blood is being routed there to be cooled. It's like a built-in air-conditioner/temperature gauge!

Birdorable African Penguin

One particular African Penguin became very famous in the late 2000's when he suffered feather loss. Pierre the penguin was living at the California Academy of Sciences at the time of his 2004 molt, which seemed might be his last. The loss of feathers threatened Pierre's life, not to mention his social standing among his fellow penguins. To help Pierre, scientists and wetsuit manufacturers devised a penguin-sized neoprene wetsuit for the bird. The wetsuit saved Pierre and eventually the lost feathers grew back. Here's a short video that chronicles Pierre's situation.

You can pick up unique Birdorable African Penguin swag in our shop. Here's a sampling of what's available.

Comments

Heather Richards on January 5, 2017 at 4:48 PM wrote:
Penguins are awesome. I used to be into owls but now they're so 2016! Penguins are the in bird! I am the queen of RANDOM!
Adella on July 19, 2021 at 2:51 PM wrote:
I watched a show about them on Netflix. It was called Penguin Town.

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published
You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Birdorable to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

2019 Bonanza Bird #8: Pesquet's Parrot

Today's new Birdorable bird is a species that feeds almost exclusively on sticky fig fruits. Today Pesquet's Parrot joins our family! The Pesquet's Parrot is a large species of parrot found in New Guinea rainforest habitat. These birds are specialist frugivores, feeding...

Meet the Hooded Vulture: Africa's Scruffy Scavenger Species Profile

The Hooded Vulture is one of Africa’s most distinctive scavengers, easily recognized by its bare, pinkish head and scruffy, hood-like feathers that give this bird its name. Found across sub-Saharan Africa, the Hooded Vulture is typically seen patrolling the skies or perched near human settlements, where it...

2015 Bonanza Bird #25: Elf Owl

For the last 25 days we have been unveiling a new bird here and on our Facebook page every day until Christmas. Today's final bird in our Birdorable Bonanza: Advent Edition is the Elf Owl! Elf Owls are tiny owls...

2015 Bonanza Bird #15: Superb Parrot

Our Birdorable Bonanza: 2015 Advent Edition continues today with a parrot that lives Down Under: the Superb Parrot! The Superb Parrot is a medium-sized species of parrot endemic to Australia, where it is found in the southeastern states of New South Wales...