GC: n
S: Ponant – https://escales.ponant.com/en/auk-vs-penguins/ (last access: 19 July 2024); NatGeo – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/penguins-1 (last access: 19 July 2024).
N: 1. 1570s, originally used of the great auk of Newfoundland (now extinct; the last two known birds were killed in 1844); the shift in meaning to the Antarctic swimming bird (which looks something like it, observed by Drake in Magellan’s Straits in 1578) is from 1580s. The word itself is of unknown origin, though it often is asserted to be from Welsh pen “head” (see pen-) + gwyn “white” (see Gwendolyn). The great auk had a large white patch between its bill and eye. The French and Breton versions of the word ultimately are from English. A similarity to Latin pinguis “fat (adj.), juicy,” figuratively “dull, gross, heavy,” has been noted.
2. penguin (bird order). Also known as: Sphenisciformes, sphenisciform.
- penguin, (order Sphenisciformes), any of 18–21 species of flightless marine birds that live only in the Southern Hemisphere. The majority of species live not in Antarctica but rather between latitudes 45° and 60° S, where they breed on islands. A few penguins inhabit temperate regions, and one, the Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus), lives at the Equator.
3. General features
The stocky, short-legged appearance of penguins has endeared them to people worldwide. They range from about 35 cm (14 inches) in height and approximately 1 kg (about 2 pounds) in weight in the blue, or fairy, penguin (Eudyptula minor) to 115 cm (45 inches) and 25 to 40 kg (55 to 90 pounds) in the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri). Most are black on the back and white below, often with lines of black across the upper breast or spots of white on the head. Colour is rare, being limited to red or yellow irises of the eye in some species; red beaks or feet in a few; yellow brow tufts in the three species of Eudyptes; and orange and yellow on the head, neck, and breast in the emperor and king (A. patagonica) penguins.
4. The total populations of some species, such as the emperor, are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, but most species of smaller penguins certainly run into the millions. Immense island breeding colonies, some teeming with hundreds of thousands of nesting pairs, represent a large potential food resource, but the economic importance of penguins is negligible. Nineteenth-century whalers and seal hunters visited some colonies for meat and eggs, and a penguin oil industry once took large numbers of the birds. By the early 20th century, however, this exploitation was no longer profitable, and most colonies were left alone or actively protected. Some species are now increasing in numbers, apparently as a result of the mid-20th century’s decimation of Antarctic whales, which compete with penguins for the krill (minute crustaceans) on which both feed. Penguin populations, however, are highly vulnerable to changes in climate and ocean temperature, including recent global warming. Penguins also are very sensitive to depletion of local fish populations by humans.
5. Penguins only live in the Southern hemisphere, while auks prefer the cliffs of the Northern hemisphere, especially those in Brittany, which could explain why they are known as pingouins in French: pen means head and gwenn means white in Breton. You will never see an auk on the sea ice. To help you remember, AUKS can be found in the ARCTIC (Northern hemisphere), and PENGUINS live in ANTARCTICA (Southern hemisphere). Unlike auks, penguins cannot fly. They mainly live on the sea ice or land, and sometimes walk a long way between their colony and their fishing grounds. However, their wings are not useless. They serve as excellent fins in the water, enabling penguins to perform underwater feats. Some of them, like the gentoo penguin, can swim up to 35 km/h (even the best Olympic swimmer can’t go faster than 9.5 km/h)! Others, such as the emperor penguin, can dive to depths of just over 450 metres and hold their breath for 32 minutes (versus a maximum of 8 minutes for a dolphin, and 11 minutes 35 for the best human freediver )! Excellent swimmers, these penguins can dive down to catch fish, and don’t just settle for the krill close to the surface.
Auks hold no records in this area, but that’s because their wings are not only for swimming: they can also fly. They generally make short flights close to the water’s surface. Lesser auks hunt their prey by diving from the surface of the water, known as pursuit diving, rather than by diving into the water from the air. They spend 75% of their time at sea, only returning to land to nest.
S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=penguin (last access: 19 July 2024). 2 to 4. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/animal/penguin/Natural-history (last access: 19 July 2024). 5. Ponant – https://escales.ponant.com/en/auk-vs-penguins/ (last access: 19 July 2024).
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