When you think about penguins, you think about Antarctica and the area around Antarctica. There are more than 17 species of penguins and they all live in the Southern Hemisphere. All penguins are flightless birds that have adapted for life in cold water. Penguins do not fly even though they are birds. They search for food and evade predators by swimming rather than flying. Penguins have dense, solid bones and no air sacs (which reduce body weight to allow birds to fly more easily). Most penguins can be underwater for five to seven minutes.
In Antarctica, the larger species feed primarily on squid and the smaller species feed mostly on krill and fish. All penguins nest in colonies. Most use open nests lined with rocks and pebbles and both the males and females sit on the eggs and feed the young. The young are fed by regurgitation and take their food from the inside mouth of the adults.
