National Geographic Kids - USA (2021-12)

16 NAT GEO KIDS^ •^ DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022

The penguins aren’t
trying to hit each other.
But these birds face into the wind so
the guano blows away from their own
home—and toward other nests. Look
out, neighbors!

NOSY NEIGHBORS
All that noise can be distracting, but
Adélies have to stay focused to prevent
a big-city theft of their valuables: that
is, their pebbles.
Penguins use the small rocks to build
nests, basically a small mound with a
dip in the center to hold a pair of eggs,
which Adélies usually lay sometime in
November. Mom and Dad take turns sit-
ting on the eggs and finding food until
the chicks hatch in December. Then the
parents switch off feeding the chicks
and keeping them warm.
And those pebbles are worth a lot.
“In big colonies, it can be difficult to
find pebbles,” Wienecke says. If an

AN ADÉLIE MOTHER

FEEDS HER CHICKS BY

REGURGITATING, OR

THROWING UP, FOOD

INTO THEIR BEAKS.

ADÉLIE

PARENTS

TAKE TURNS

SITTING

ON THEIR

GRAPEFRUIT-

SIZE EGGS.

Adélie turns its back for even just a

moment, another might swipe a

few stones.

In rare cases, if the parents and

chicks are away from the nest, a

non-breeding neighbor might try to

steal the entire nest and connect it

to their own nest to build an even

bigger home. The birds fight back

against these intruders by biting

them or slapping them with their

wings to scare them off.

Despite squabbles, neighbors can

be helpful. “When the nests are all

built within pecking distance of each

other, it makes it harder for preda-

tory seabirds like south polar skuas

and giant petrels to target the

colony,” Wienecke says. “If they did,

they’d have a lot of Adélies banding

together against them.”

Scientists have gotten involved

to protect Adélies, too. “Since our

expedition, a proposed marine pro-

tected area was expanded to include

the Danger Islands,” Lynch says. “And

in the meantime, the area’s danger-

ous sea ice will likely keep out most

of the people curious to visit the

region’s newly discovered Adélie

penguins.”

That way, penguin cities can keep

hustling, bustling, and making noise

for years to come.

Antarctica’s

average annual

temperature ranges

from about 14°F on the

coast—where Adélies

live—to minus 76°F

in parts of the

interior.

Adélies can

toboggan, or glide

on their bellies,

for miles at

a time.

Where

Adélie

penguins

live

INDIAN

OCEAN

SOUTHERN^ OCEAN

PACIFIC

OCEAN

ARCTIC OCEAN

A

T

LA

N

TI

C

O

CE

A

N

PACIFIC

OCEAN

SOUTH

AMERICA

ASIA

AUSTRALIA

AFRICA

ANTARCTICA

NORTH

AMERICA E

UROP

E