Chinstrap penguin: Difference between revisions

{{other uses of|Chinstrap (disambiguation)}}

The '''chinstrap penguin''' ('''''Pygoscelis antarcticus''''') is a species of [[penguin]] that inhabits a variety of islands and shores in the Southern Pacific and the Antarctic Oceans. Its name stems from the narrow black band under its head, which makes it appear as if it were wearing a black helmet, making it easy to identify.<ref name="nationalgeographic">{{cite news |title=Chinstrap Penguin Facts |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/c/chinstrap-penguin/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218141819/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/c/chinstrap-penguin/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 18, 2019 |access-date=17 February 2019 |work=[[National Geographic]]}}</ref> Other common names include '''ringed penguin''', '''bearded penguin''', and '''stonecracker penguin''', due to its loud, harsh call.<ref name="ultimate">{{cite book |last1=De Roy |first1=Tui |last2=Jones |first2=Mark |last3=Cornthwaite |first3=Julie |title=Penguins: The Ultimate Guide |year= 2014 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0691162997 |pages=206–207 |edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=489wCQAAQBAJ |access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref>

Chinstrap penguins have a circumpolar distribution. They breed in [[Antarctica]], [[Argentina]], [[Bouvet Island]], [[Chile]], the [[Falkland Islands]], the [[French Southern Territories]], and [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. Vagrant individuals have been found in New Zealand, the islands of Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha, and South Africa.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

The diet of the chinstrap penguin consists of small [[fish]], [[krill]], [[shrimp]], and [[squid]], for which they swim up to {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} offshore each day to obtain. The chinstrap penguin's tightly packed feathers provide a waterproof coat, enabling it to swim in freezing waters. Additionally, thick [[blubber]] deposits and intricate [[blood vessel]]s in the flippers and legs assist in the preservation of heat.<ref name="LPZChinstrapPenguin">{{cite web |url=http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/chinstrap-penguin |publisher=Lincoln Park Zoo |title=Chinstrap Penguin Fact Sheet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322204906/http://www.lpzoo.org/animal/chinstrap-penguin |archive-date=2016-03-22 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2004, two male chinstrap penguins named [[Roy and Silo]] in [[Central Park Zoo]], [[New York City]], formed a [[pair bond]] and took turns trying to "hatch" a rock, for which a keeper eventually substituted a fertile egg, and the pair subsequently hatched and raised the chick.<ref>{{cite news|last=Driscoll|first=Emily V.|title=Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bisexual-species&sc=rss|access-date=22 April 2012|newspaper=Scientific American|date=10 July 2008}}</ref> Penguins by nature hatch eggs and are social creatures. The children's book ''[[And Tango Makes Three]]'' was written based on this event.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1799196,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103180449/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1799196,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 3, 2006 |title=Gay icon causes a flap by picking up a female |publisher=Times Online |first=James |last=Bone |date=27 September 2005 |access-date=31 March 2009}}</ref>

The chinstrap penguin is primarily threatened by [[climate change]]. In several parts of its range, climate change decreases the abundance of krill, which likely makes reproduction less successful. For instance, a 2019 expedition to breeding grounds on [[Elephant Island]] show a fifty percent population decline in just under fifty years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/news/antarcticas-most-numerous-penguin-has-suffered-huge-declines-expedition-finds|title=Antarctica's Most Numerous Penguin Has Suffered Huge Declines, Expedition Finds|last=Stryker|first=Noah|date=2020-02-10|website=Audubon|language=en|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-11/number-of-chinstrap-penguins-in-antarctica-has-fallen-sharply/11955300|title=Chinstrap penguin colonies in Antarctica suffer '77pc decline since last survey'|date=2020-02-11|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-03-01}}</ref> Other potential threats include volcanic events<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liversage |first=Sian |date=June 27, 2020 |title=Chinstrap Penguins: Risking Their Lives on Zavodovski Island |url=https://www.penguinsinternational.org/2020/06/27/chinstrap-penguins-risking-their-lives-on-zavodovski-island/}}</ref> and the fishing of krill by humans.<ref>{{cnCite journal |last1=Strycker |first1=Noah |last2=Wethington |first2=Michael |last3=Borowicz |first3=Alex |last4=Forrest |first4=Steve |last5=Witharana |first5=Chandi |last6=Hart |first6=Tom |last7=Lynch |first7=Heather J. |date=March2020-11-10 |title=A global population assessment of the Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=19474 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-76479-3 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=7655846 |pmid=33173126|bibcode=2020NatSR..1019474S 2022}}</ref>

[[Category:Penguins|chinstrap penguinChinstrap]]

[[Category:Pygoscelis|chinstrapChinstrap penguin]]