grass. (Williams, 1995) The Emperor and King penguins do not build a nest for their young. The reason for this is that when one of these species lays an egg, they stand upright while incubating a single egg. The eggs rest on the top their feet under a loose fold of skin. This loose fold of skin, which is used for incubating the egg, is called a broodpatch. The broodpatch contains numerous blood vessels that when blood is transferred to this area, heat is transferred to incubate the egg. After a female penguin lays her egg, she returns to the ocean to feed and the male incubates the egg on his feet for as long as sixty days or until the egg hatches and a baby chick emerges. Usually in most cases, the female Emperor penguin returns from feeding in the ocean just about the same time the egg is ready to hatch. If she does not return in time and the egg hatches, the male penguin feeds the baby chick with a milky fluid from his throat. The baby chick is covered with a downy coat and is kept under the broodpatch until it is 6 to 10 days old. After this period of time, the baby chick begins to regulate its own body temperature. Often chicks herd together in tight groups to keep warm from the freezing arctic air. The eggs of penguins tend to vary from species to species in regards to size, shape and weight. The colors of penguin eggs tend to be white, bluish or greenish. A chick depends on its parents for survival between hatching and obtaining its waterproof feathers. Once a chick has lost its down feathers and they have been replaced with waterproof feathers, the chick is able to enter the ocean and become somewhat independent of its parents.Penguins are very efficient swimmers and; although they are used to swimming at speeds of 5 mph, some of the species can travel up to speeds of 8.9 mph, such as the Emperor penguin. When penguins are traveling through the water quickly, they will leap out of the water every few feet. This type of actio...
