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Kingdom: Animalia The scientific terminology, Sphenisciformes refers to a bird order that comprises a single family of birds (Spheniscidae) and a total of six genera, which all combine into 17 extant species. In common reference, the Sphenisciformes are known as Penguins. Species Description Sphenisciformes are most notable for assuming an upright posture with their stiff wings opened since they cannot be folded alongside their bodies. The Penguins are medium to large birds weighing up to 40 kg and measuring up to 115 cm in length. They have a thick fat layer beneath their skin to protect them from cold. Adults plumage is normally blue-black, gray dorsally and then white ventrally. Chicks are usually either brown-gray entirely or white ventrally. Sphenisciformes feathers are too small and continuous such that they have no feather tracts. Sphenisciformes are flightless divers with short legs that are placed on the far rear posterior of their bodies. Their bills are laterally compressed and usually very long carrying a holorhinal (nostril) all along. Feeding Habits The Galapagos Penguins sometimes forage with terns, boobies and shearwaters. However, in normal instances, Sphenisciformes are perfection divers. They employ their flippers while swimming underwater for prey. They are fond of pursuing anchovies, cuttlefish, pilchards, squid and even krill for prey. The known predators of Sphenisciformes include:
Breeding Given that the life expectancy of penguins is about 20 years, adult penguins can start breeding from two years to five years depending on the species. Most penguins lay two eggs in every breeding season. The hatching of Sphenisciformes can be either synchronous or asynchronous, meaning paced at one, two or three days apart. In most cases, the younger chick never survives. As soon as the chicks hatch, they take up to 52 weeks to fledge. During this time, most species keep the chicks with the adults who feed it regularly. In some species actually, chicks are fed until they are nearly of an adult size. Sphenisciformes are monogamous with pairs taking the same nest site year after year even up to 13 years in some species. To establish the mating partners, penguins undergo courtship rituals that are as complex and varied as their species. Such may include mutual ecstatic displays, loud raucous vocalizations, mate recognition behaviors, bill-fencing displays and beak slapping. Habitat Sphenisciformes restrict their habitats to Southern Hemisphere regions. In these regions, they are oceanic and or coastal denizens. The Penguins living at the Antarctic and also at the Sub-Antarctic are exclusively oceanic and they only breed on coasts or on pack ice. The Sphenisciformes species living near the equator can either be oceanic or they can inhabit inshore waters besides breeding in forest or coastal habitats. Conclusion Since time immemorial, penguins have been hunted and killed ferociously. They are usually boiled in bid to extract the oil trapped in the heavy fat layer just beneath their skin. By the end of the last century, over 150,000 Royal penguins were being harvested annually from the Macquarie Island, New Zealand alone. In Peru and Chile coastlines, their eggs are a delicacy. Consequently, 12 Sphenisciformes have been included in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Three more (Megadytpes antipodes, Eudyptes sclateri and Spheniscus mendiculus) are already endangered. Other threats to the survival of the Sphenisciformes include hybridization, breeding habitat destruction, egg collection, human disturbance, predation by newly introduced mammals, oil spills and commercial fishing.
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