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Penguins

 

            Penguins are a group of flightless birds that live in the Southern Hemisphere, and some inhabit Antarctica. There are 17 different types of penguins including the king penguin, emperor penguin, the Adelie penguin, and fairy penguin. Penguins are some of the most famous birds in the world and are very beautiful creatures.
             Penguins are flightless birds which means that they do not fly. But they still have very stiff wings that are called flippers. Their wings do help them swim through the water at speeds up to 20 mph (Gilpin, 2001, p. 1). Other parts of the penguin's body help them swim too. A penguin's body is shaped like a torpedo, so it can easily cut through the water. They also have strong webbed feet and a stubby tail which it uses to help steer through the water (Brennan, 2002, p.10). When penguins go underwater, they can not breathe the way fish do, but they breathe the way we do. Since they have lungs, they must go back up to the surface to get air the same way that humans do. When diving underwater, penguins have to try and overcome three problems: accessing enough oxygen to carry on body functions, withstanding pressure at depth and staying warm and dry (Love, 1997, p. 19). .
             All penguins eat the same kinds of food, but some to do tend to go to greater lengths than others to try and get some dinner. The greatest travelers are the emperor penguins. They can stay at sea for as long as a month and travel as far as 950 miles (Gilpin, 2001, p. 8). Penguins" eyes are well adapted for the underwater environment, and some penguins have better vision in the water than on dry land. They can use their white stomachs as camouflage, which can help to hide them from other fish in the water below them. Like some other kinds of birds, penguins have no teeth, but they have rough spikes on their tongue and the roof of their mouth (Gilpin, 2001, p. 9). When penguins are at sea looking for some food, they usually try and eat as much as they can.


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