Cold adaptation
Adélie penguins live further south than any other penguin species and have to cope with extremely cold conditions.
-
Adélies have short stocky bodies and small extremities. This reduces the body's surface area and the amount of heat that can be lost.
-
Adélie feathers are short, densely packed and overlapping, like tiles on a roof. Along with oil from a preen gland near the tail, these provide a totally waterproof layer.
-
Underneath the feathers there is also a layer of warm down close to the skin.
-
A thick layer of fat under the skin provides additional insulation from the cold − an adaptation common among warm-blooded, Antarctic vertebrates.