Macaroni Penguin

penguin · Antarctica · crested birds · ocean birds

Fancy yellow crest. Macaroni penguins have striking yellow feathers that stick up from their foreheads like a fancy mohawk. These bright crests help them recognize each other in big crowds.

Expert swimmers. Like all penguins, macaroni penguins cannot fly in the air, but their flippers and streamlined bodies make them incredible swimmers in the ocean. They hunt fish and squid underwater with amazing speed and skill.

Lives in extreme cold. These penguins live in the chilly Subantarctic and Antarctic Peninsula regions where the water is freezing and the ice spreads far and wide.

Small but sturdy. An adult macaroni penguin weighs about 5.5 kilograms (12 pounds) and measures around 70 centimeters (28 inches) tall. Males are slightly bigger and stronger than females with larger bills.

One of eight crested cousins. Macaroni penguins belong to a special group called crested penguins because of their fancy head feathers. They are closely related to royal penguins and scientists even debate if they should be considered the same species.