page_title: Penguin
section_title: Isabelline penguins
hierarchical_section_title: Penguin / Anatomy and physiology / Isabelline penguins
caption_attribution_description: English: I took this photo on Gourdin Island in December 2002. Details on my trip can be found at http://www.geocities.com/peyre1347/index.htm.
context_page_description: Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species, the Galápagos penguin, found north of the equator. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch while swimming underwater. They spend roughly half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea.
  Although almost all penguin species are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, but one species, the Galápagos penguin, lives near the equator.
  The largest living species is the emperor penguin: on average, adults are about 1.1 m tall and weigh 35 kg. The smallest penguin species is the little blue penguin, also known as the fairy penguin, which stands around 33 cm tall and weighs 1 kg. Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found in temperate or even tropical climates.
context_section_description: Perhaps one in 50,000 penguins (of most species) are born with brown rather than black plumage. These are called isabelline penguins. Isabellinism is different from albinism. Isabelline penguins tend to live shorter lives than normal penguins, as they are not well-camouflaged against the deep and are often passed over as mates.
caption: Isabelline Adélie penguin on Gourdin Island.
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