Humboldt penguin

Humboldt penguin
	at Woodlands Zoo, Seattle.
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Sphenisciformes
Family:	Spheniscidae
Genus:	Spheniscus
Binomial name
	Spheniscus humboldti;
	the range is in red

The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) has a plain white belly. It can have a few pure black spots on its belly and have orange with an hint of green. There are less than 10,000 Humboldt penguins in the wild. They are found in Chile and Peru.

They drink sea water and their favourite food is small fish. A female Humboldt penguin can weigh up to 4.5kg and the male can weigh up to 6kg. Their bodies are adapted to life in water and most Humboldt penguins can live up to 20 years. They get their name from a famous Prussian explorer, Alexander von Humboldt.

They have well dug burrows underground. In the past 100 years their droppings have been used as garden fertiliser. This dung is called “guano”.

References

↑ BirdLife International (2005). Spheniscus mendiculus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered

Other websites

Penguin World. [1]

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[iucn-1] BirdLife International (2005). Spheniscus mendiculus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered

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