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Penguins of which there are seventeen species are a member of the Spheniscidae family. The seventeen species of penguin are the emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), king (Aptenodytes patagonica), Adelie (Pygoscelis adeliae), gentoo (Pygoscelis papua), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus), rockhopper (Eudyptes crestatus), macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus), royal (Eudyptes schlegeli), Fiordland crested (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), erect-crested (Eudyptes sclateri), Snares Island (Eudyptes robustus), yellow-eyed (Megadyptes antipodes) fairy or little blue (Eudyptula minor), Magellanic (Spheniscus magellanicus), Humboldt (Spheniscus humboldti), black-footed (Spheniscus demersus) and Galapagos (Spheniscus mendiculus.

The Penguin is mostly black and white in color with an upright posture that makes them easy to tell apart from other birds. Even though they are birds they can not fly. The shape of the penguin is tapered like other marine animals. Their forelimbs have modified into flippers, they have a short tail that is wedge shaped and the hind limbs are far back on their bodies. Their webbed feet support them on land. Each species has head and facial marking that make them distinct from the others.

The crested penguin males are bigger than the females and have a larger bill. The crested penguin is the exception in other species they are relatively the same proportion.

The largest penguin is the emperor. Emperor penguins are forty-four inches tall and weigh from sixty to ninety pounds. The smallest at sixteen inches tall is the fairy penguin that only weighs a little over two pounds.

The diet of a penguin depends entirely on what species of penguin it is. Fish, squid and krill are included in the diet of all seventeen species.

The majority of penguin species use both parents to incubate the egg; they take turns. For the emperor penguin the mother will put the eggs she has just laid in the nest of her mate and go feed while he sits on the egg for as many as sixty-six days. The time it takes for incubation of the eggs can be as little as four weeks as it is for the erect-crested penguin or as many as sixty-six days as is the case with the emperor penguins. Breeding is done from the Southern hemisphere's spring through the summer period. Emperor penguins are the exception; they breed during the Southern hemisphere's winter instead.

Normally penguins will lay two eggs with the exceptions of the Emperor and the King that only lays a single egg. The Penguin reaches sexual maturity at

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