King Penguin - Aptenodytes Patagonicus

Distinguishing features
Second largest of the penguins, King penguins have an orange-yellow patch on their chests and greyish black backs. A King could only be confused with an Emperor penguin, but the location should be a giveaway. Emperors are only found on and around the Antarctic continent; Kings are found further north on sub-Antarctic islands. To tell an Emperor from a King notice that the tear-drop shaped ear patches are yellow on Emperors and are open. Kings have orange ear patches that are closed.

Chicks can grow larger (heavier and fatter, but not taller) than their parents and usually have a uniform brown plumage, some chicks have a silver grey plumage. Early explorers thought king chicks were a separate species - the Woolly penguin.

Sub-species
Two sub-species have been suggested, A. p. patagonicus from South Georgia and the Falklands, and A. p. halli from Kerguelen, Crozet, Heard, Prince Edward and Macquarie Islands. However, significant size variations occur between all the island groups and most populations from the different islands are genetically isolated from one another.

Height & Weight
Adult King penguins are typically 90 cm tall. Juveniles are slightly shorter, only about 80 cm.

Males and females both weigh 15 - 16 kg at the beginning of courtship, but females lose more weight so that by the end of the courtship period males weigh 13kg and females around 11kg.

Breeding locations

map of breeding locations

King penguins breed in large colonies on many sub-Antarctic islands. Currently, there are more than 80 known colonies. Notable colonies are on Crozet Island, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen Island, South Georgia and Macquarie Island. The total breeding population is estimated to be well over 1,000,000 pairs.
At present, the population of King penguins is thought to be increasing throughout its range.

On the map, the different colored dots indicate the breeding locations of the two sub-species. Pale yellow dots represent A. p. patagonicus and orange dots indicate A. p. halli.

Nesting behavior
King penguins have a unique breeding cycle. It takes 14 to 16 months to complete egg laying and chick rearing. So most pairs raise chicks at most twice in a three year period. The breeding cycle starts with adults coming ashore to moult and then returning to sea for 20 days to regain body reserves. The females lay a single egg which is incubated on the parent's feet, both parents take turns to incubate the egg during the 54 day incubation period. The chicks remain with the parents for 30 to 40 days until they are large enough to join creches, at which time both parents go to sea to fetch food for the growing chicks. The chicks finally moult into their sub-adult plumage and go to sea at the age of 10 to 13 months.

Principal diet
King penguins diet consists almost entirely of fish with only a very few squid and crustaceans being eaten.

Alternative names
As far as we know there are no alternative names for King penguins.

King penguins, like these in the Falkland Islands, are the second largest of all penguin species. Sometimes confused with emperor penguins, king penguins are more colorful and have a longer, more slender bill. Adult king penguins have a dark, nearly black head with orange-yellow, spoon-shaped spots on either side of the head, and an orange area at the throat that fades into pale yellow and finally to white.