Biology & breeding
Adélie penguin biology (Mawson region)
| Weight: |
3 - 6 kg |
| Life expectancy: |
10 - 20 years |
| Age of first breeding: |
3 - 5 years |
| Breeding season: |
October-March |
| Clutch size: |
2 eggs |
| Chick survival rate: |
up to 1.1 chick per nest |
| Chick growth rate (av): |
80 g per day |
| Chick age at fledging: |
50 - 70 days |
| Fledging weight: |
3.1 kg |
| Meal size: |
- brooded chick:300 g
- crèched chick:650 g
|
| Diet: |
- krill:(30-60%)
- fish:(20-60%)
- amphipods:(<10%)
|
| Distance travelled from colony when feeding during: |
- incubation: 100-300 km
- brood stage: 5-110 km
- crèche stage: 5-160 km
- winter: > 1,200 km
|
| Walking speed on ice: |
2.5 km/hr |
| Swimming speed: |
4 - 8 km/hr |
| Predators: |
- skuas (eggs & chicks)
- leopard seals
|
Adélie penguin breeding cycle
Courtship and mating
After spending the winter in the pack ice, Adélie penguins move into their breeding colonies on land. They begin arriving at Béchervaise Island on about the 18th of October. They return to the same nest and the same mate as in the previous year if they can. They build nests out of small rocks, then mate and lay two eggs by mid-November.   
Incubation
The male and female take turns incubating the eggs over the next 34 days until the chicks hatch. Each off-duty bird spends 15-20 days at sea feeding to regain the weight it has lost during courtship. 
Brood stage
Once chicks hatch (mid - late December) the parents alternate guard and feeding duties. They swap over every couple of days. The adult birds head out to sea to catch krill, fish and amphipods which they regurgitate for the chicks. 
Crèche stage
When chicks are 3 weeks old (mid January) they are big enough to be left alone, allowing both parents to simultaneously collect food for them. The chicks group together in 'crèches' for protection and warmth. 
Fledging
At 7-9 weeks of age (mid - late February) the chicks have replaced their down with adult feathers and are ready to go to sea. Once they depart the breeding colonies, most will not return until they are old enough to breed (3 - 5 years of age).   Photos by Lyn Irvine and Judy Clarke
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