Photo by Anton Wolfaardt,
Western Cape Nature Conservation Board (http://www.penguins.cl/african-penguins.htm )

Chick with downy feathers

African Penguins
Scientific Name: Spheniscus Demersus 

African Penguins have black feathers on their backs and white feathers on their fronts. Their chin is black with a black patch on their face and broad white band around their head. There is a black stripe on their chest which runs down either side to their legs.

While most penguins live in cool water environments, the African penguin has adapted to the warm land environment of southern Africa. To stay cool during the warm part of the day, the African penguin is not very active. They are most active at dawn or dusk when the sun is just rising or has just set. They like to swim or loaf on the beach near the water.

Young African penguins have blue-gray feathers instead of black and do not have the chest and face markings that the adult birds have.

African penguins are about 70 cm long and weigh about 3 kg. The males are usually larger with bigger and thicker bills.

African penguins build nests under bushes and separate from one another. They usually lay two eggs. The eggs will hatch after about 40 days. The parents take turns taking care of the eggs and then the chicks after they hatch from the egg. One parent will take care of the egg or chick while the other one will go and find food. They take care of the chicks for about 15 days after they hatch, but they are guarded from other animals until the chicks are about 30 days old. After the chicks are 30 days old, the parents will hunt for food together and the chicks will form groups for protection called a crèche.

When the chicks are old enough, from 60 to 130 days old, they will leave the colony. The will stay away from the colony for about a year, sometimes almost two years. They will then return to the colony where they were born. During this time they will lose their feathers and grow new, adult feathers. This is called molting. The molting period lasts about 20 days.

African penguins are hunted for food by people who eat the eggs for food. There are some birds that like to eat penguin eggs, too. Other animals that hunt the African penguin are the mongoose, genets, seals, cats, and leopards.

African penguins like to eat small fish like anchovies, sardines, mackerel,  herring, and squid, too. When they are hunting they can swim as fast as 20km/h. They can dive and stay under water for as long as two and a half minutes. They can dive as deep as 130 m.  Sometimes the penguins have to travel from 30 to 110 km to find food. .