Fourth+Genre

AfricanPenguins live in colonies on the coast of Africa. They grow up 60cm in length, and weigh between 2.4 and 3.6kg. African Penguins have a black back and a white belly with a black chin and face patch seperated from the crown by a white band. They have a narrow black band across the chest and down the flanks towards their feet. Males tend to be largeer than the females and have heavier bills. Juveniles peguins have blue-gray backs and light bellys and they don't have white face markings and black breast and few randomly placed black spots on the chest and the belly. They eat pelagic fish, sardiness, horse mackerel, round herring, squid and crustaceans. They can travel at great lengths to find foodexcept for when it is breeding season. They can swim up to 2km/h.

African Penguins start breeding from two to six years of age, but normally at the age of four. As many of the Penguins, African penguins breed in colonies. Mostly on rocky offshore islands, either nesting in burrows, they excauate themselves, or in depressions under boulders or brushes. Nesting under boulders and bushes are for shade and protection from Kelp Gulls, Scared Ibises, South Polar Skuas and Fur Seal. Unlike many other bird species, African Penguins have an extened breeding season. In most colonies, birds at some stage of breeding will be present thought the year. Broad regional breeding does exist because the peak of breeding season in Namibia is November and December. They tend to be eailer than the peak of South Africa because there breeding peak is March and May. Afrian Penguins are monogamous, and the same mates will generally return to the same colony, and often the same nest site each year. About 80% to 90% of mates stay together in consecutive breeding seasons, and some stay together for 10 years. Females usually lay two eggs, although it is not common for both of the chicks to survive. The incubation period takes about 40 days, while the females and the males take turns incubationing the egg. Depending on the availibilty of food, females and males will incubate the egg for two and a half days. After the chick has hatch, both parents continue to raise the chick for 15 days. After the chick are able to keep there own body heat, the parents still have to stay with the chick until it is 30 days old because predators can still eat the chicks.

African Penguins chick can moult from 60 to 130 days of age, losing their fluff and gaining their "blue" feathers. The moulting period is depended on the amount of food the chick get. Adult penguins continue to feed chick until they leave the colony. The chicks stay on there own for about 12 to 22 months, after they return to their colony were they moult into adult hood.

In South Africa most penguins moult in November to January, while in Namibia penguins moult in April to May. The whole moulting process takes about 20 days to complete. The feather-shedding process takes about 13 days, but it depends on the amount of food the penguins gets. At the end of the moulting process the peguins return to the sea and spend about 6 weeks getting their fat back.

Penguins are adapted to cold aquatic weather, and the need to reduce heat loss is a major importance to all penguins. Somes spieces like the African Penguins have been adapting will to warmer weather.