Nests of pebbles
Adelies build their nests from small stones, and steal them from their neighbours when they can.
Antarctic ice
Adelie penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae
A small, neat black and white penguin with a white ring round each eye.
- Size
- About 70cm tall
- Look for it
- October to December, then January to March
- Where
- Rocky coasts all round Antarctica
Hurries after you with its flippers out. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Adelie penguin
Good to know
Six things about the adelie penguin
A white eye-ring
The white ring round the eye is the easiest way to tell an Adelie from other penguins.
Penguin cities
Some colonies hold more than half a million birds.
Pink from krill
They eat so much krill that their droppings stain the rocks pink.
Named after a wife
A French explorer named the bird, and a stretch of the coast, after his wife Adele.
Following the sun
In winter, Adelies move north to stay near the edge of the ice, where there is still some daylight.
The real thing
Photos of the adelie penguin
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Antarctic cruise ships visit Adelie colonies in summer. Look for them porpoising: leaping clear of the water as they swim.
How to help
Adelies depend on krill. Check that any krill oil or fish food you buy comes from a fishery that is certified as sustainable.
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