Yesterday we received the visit of six Chinstrap penguins while we were at a station. The remained next to the boat for a long time, apparently feeding. These are the first penguins I have seen that I can say with certainty are Chinstrap. You will see in one of the pictures below why they are named like that.
Six Strinchap penguins came to visit us while we were at a estation
These penguins look more like ducks on the surface of the water than what we had seen with the Adélies, because their bodies are stick out more above the water. In fact, when we were talking about the visit at dinner time, Kevin said he had seen some birds floating close to the bow, but thought they looked like ducks or other large flying birds.
You might be able to see the chin strap that gives these penguins their name
In the picture above you might see the black pigmentation in their chin that looks like a strap. Chinstrap penguins are about 68 - 76 cm tall and weight between 3.2 - 5.3 kg according to the guide I am using (Shirihai, H., 2008. The Complete guide to Antarctic Wildlife). Chinstrap penguins have a distribution that overlaps between true Antarctic penguins, like Adélies, Kings, Gentoo and Emperors, and those in the subantarctic islands (12 more species). They are found mostly around latitude 60 S (we are still at 67 S), and near Scotia Sea.
Below is a picture of an Adélie we saw a few weeks ago. You can see its body is more underwater than the Chinstraps, as well as the different head coloration among both species. Adélie penguins are similar in size to the Chinstrap penguins (70 - 71 cm height and 3.8 - 8.2 kg weight) and can be hard to distinguish from the Chinstrap as juveniles since young Adélies have whiter necks than adults.
Adélie penguins seem to sink lower below the water surface thatn Chinstrap penguins.
And since we are talking about penguins, here is a picture of some Emperor penguins we saw this past week. Emperors slide on their belly an the snow, which is called tobogganing, a lot more than Adélies do, according to what I have observed. Tobogganing requires far less energy for these large penguins than walking. Emperor penguins endure the coldest conditions of any bird and are confined to live on pack ice, fast-ice (melts in the summer) and adjacent seas.
Emperor penguins slide on their belly more than the Adélie penguins do
Emperors are the largest penguins of them all, with a height of 1.0 to 1.3 meters and weight of 20 to 41 kg. They are found usually south of the 66 S latitude, although some have made it New Zealand and South American coasts. We will be very lucky to see another one. The have been portrayed a lot in movies in recent years, with 'March of the penguins' and 'Happy feet' among the most famous, because of their peculiar breeding cycle. Females lay a single egg per season between May and June far from the coast (160 km away from where the cost will be when they go back to the water); males incubate the egg alone for 62 - 67 days in which they do not eat anything, while females stay in the water eating. Males form large groups to huddle against the cold and each hold their egg between their feet to prevent it from touching the ground so it does not freeze. Females return to the colony in time for the chick's emergence to feed him. The male is the first to feed the chick with secretions of fat and protein, and then travel to the sea to feed. And here they go, happily tobogganing away.
Emperor penguins happily tobogganing, which requires less energy than walking.
We have had the most unantarctic seas in the past five days, and I hope they stay like that. Very calm seas with no wind. I hope to have the same luck as we cross the Drake Passage. The skies are still overcast, but that is not a surprise anymore. We have two more days of hydrographic stations. I can not believe the cruise is coming to an end. I have had so much fun learning all this things that I am sharing with you.