Penguin Facts for Kids 🐧

Penguins are birds that can't fly, but they are superstar swimmers! In their tuxedo-like feathers, penguins waddle on land and zoom through the water to catch fish. Let's slide into some cool penguin facts!

25 Penguin Facts for Kids

1. There are about 18 kinds of penguins.
2. Almost all penguins live in the southern half of the world, not at the North Pole.
3. The emperor penguin is the biggest penguin and can stand about 4 feet (1.2 m) tall.
4. The little penguin (also called the fairy penguin) is the smallest, at only about 16 inches (40 cm) tall.
5. Penguins can't fly, but their wings work like flippers to help them swim.
6. Some penguins can swim about 22 miles per hour (35 km/h) in short bursts.
7. Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 meters (over 1,600 feet) looking for food.
8. A penguin's black-and-white feathers are camouflage: the dark back blends in with deep water from above, and the white belly blends in with the bright surface from below.
9. Penguins have lots of tightly packed feathers plus a layer of fat to stay warm.
10. Penguins sometimes slide on their bellies across the ice. This is called tobogganing!
11. Penguins drink salt water, and special glands above their eyes help get rid of the extra salt.
12. Penguins eat fish, squid and tiny shrimp-like animals called krill.
13. A group of penguins on land is called a colony or a rookery.
14. Some penguin colonies have hundreds of thousands of birds.
15. Every penguin has its own voice, so parents and chicks can find each other in a noisy crowd.
16. Emperor penguin dads balance the egg on their feet and keep it warm under a flap of skin for about two months.
17. During that time, emperor penguin dads don't eat at all.
18. Emperor penguins huddle together in big groups to share warmth during freezing Antarctic storms.
19. Baby penguins are called chicks, and they are covered in fluffy down feathers.
20. Gentoo penguins are known as the fastest-swimming penguins.
21. Some male penguins give a female a special pebble to help build their nest.
22. Galapagos penguins live near the equator, where it is warm.
23. Penguins molt once a year, losing all their old feathers and growing new ones.
24. Penguins can't breathe underwater, so they pop up to the surface for air.
25. Climate change and overfishing are making life harder for some penguins, so many people work to protect them.

Questions kids ask about penguins

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