Penguins are birds that cannot fly. They are expert swimmers. They swim by pushing themselves along with their flippers. They have black on their backs. They have white on their bellies. Penguins catch fish and other small sea animals to eat. Penguins have a layer of fat under the skin. It helps keep them warm.

The emperor penguin is the biggest penguin. The king penguin is the second largest penguin. The little penguin is the smallest kind of penguin.

Most penguins live south of the equator. They live in the Southern Hemisphere. The Galapagos penguin lives on islands on the equator. It is the only wild penguin found north of the equator.

Penguins huddle close together to stay warm. Penguins lay only one or two eggs at a time. Parents take turns keeping the eggs warm. A father emperor penguin keeps the egg warm. It is on top of his feet. It is under a flap of skin.

A father emperor penguin stands with the egg for about 65 days. While he holds the egg, he eats nothing. He loses about 40 percent of his body weight. Parents bring up food from their stomachs. They feed it to their chicks. Chicks gather in groups called creches while their parents go to find food.

Words to know

• equator: Earth's middle line
• creches: chick groups