Bird Album
Adelie Penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)
≈59 cmLength4.8 kgWeight
The adult has a black head, white belly and a conspicuous white ring around the eye.
Busiest months: December–January · Most records: Antarctica
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult has a white eye-ring around the black eye
- Adult has a black head, throat and upperparts, and white underparts
- Black feathers cover most of the bill, leaving only the tip exposed
- Legs and feet pinkish
Male, female and young
Sexes alike in appearance; female has a shorter bill and wings and is lighter. Juvenile lacks a complete white eye-ring.
Where and when it's recorded
Adelie Penguin has been recorded at 13 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Southern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Brown BluffAntarctica422 records
- Petermann IslandAntarctica289 records
- Paulet IslandAntarctica287 records
More places
- Errera Channel – Cuverville IslandAntarctica98 records
- Half Moon IslandAntarctica86 records
- Andvord Bay – Neko HarborAntarctica85 records
- Cierva CoveAntarctica69 records
- Mikkelsen Harbor – D'Hainaut IslandAntarctica41 records
- Errera Channel – Danco IslandAntarctica30 records
- Deception Island – Whaler's BayAntarctica30 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent. It is the most widespread penguin species in the Antarctic, and, along with the emperor penguin, is the most southerly distributed of all penguins. It is named after Adélie Land, in turn, named for Adèle Dumont d'Urville, who was married to French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who first discovered this penguin in 1840.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Adelie Penguin?
The Adelie Penguin is about ≈59 cm long and weighs around 4.8 kg.
Where does the Adelie Penguin live?
Its breeding range: Southern Ocean, Antarctica: Antarctic coasts and islands. It is most often recorded in Antarctica.
When is the best time to see the Adelie Penguin?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January and December (Southern Hemisphere).
Is the Adelie Penguin endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Adelie Penguin as Least Concern.
What does the Adelie Penguin eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Adelie Penguin in?
It belongs to the family Penguins (Spheniscidae), order Sphenisciformes.
At a glance
- Length
- ≈59 cm
- Weight
- 4.8 kg
- Habitat
- Ocean
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- On the water surface
- Migration
- Partial migrant
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 94 mm
- Tail
- 139 mm
- Bill
- 60 mm
- Tarsus
- 32 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Southern Ocean, Antarctica: Antarctic coasts and islands
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Sphenisciformes
- Family
- Penguins Spheniscidae
- Genus
- Pygoscelis
Other birds in the genus Pygoscelis
Chinstrap PenguinPygoscelis antarcticus
Gentoo PenguinPygoscelis papua
King PenguinAptenodytes patagonicus
Emperor PenguinAptenodytes forsteri
Little PenguinEudyptula minor
Galapagos PenguinSpheniscus mendiculus
Humboldt PenguinSpheniscus humboldti
Magellanic PenguinSpheniscus magellanicus
African PenguinSpheniscus demersus
Yellow-eyed PenguinMegadyptes antipodes
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Nanosmile = Reinhard Jahn, Mannheim. ↗
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