BirdLife Community

Here’s a list of Penguin species. In total there are 18 species in the penguin family, of which 11 are Globally Threatened according to BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN Red List.

The list of penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) includes aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, members of the penguin familiy have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their life on land and half in the oceans.

Although all penguin species are native to the southern hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galápagos Penguin, lives near the equator.

Image: List of Penguin species (Guillaume Dargaud).

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