South African Penguins

Scientifically named as Spheniscus demersusb, the African penguin is one of the native species of the fauna of the south-western coast of the African continent. 'Black-footed penguin' is another name for it. And in case you did not know, this flightless bird is also known as the 'Jackass penguin'. Why? Well, it brays in the same way as the donkey does. An average adult can grow up to 68 - 70 cm, that is 26.7 - 27.5 inches. And, 4 and 12 pounds is the measure between which the bird can weigh. One can easily identify this creature, given its black stripe and black spots on the chest or the belly. What is interesting about these spots is that their pattern is unique for each penguin, like our fingerprints are. So no African penguin can get away with a crime! That was a bad joke, wasn't it? Coming back to another one of the interesting African penguin facts, it is about the creature's eyes. Well, not exactly about its eyes, but some pink glands above them. The function of these glands is to cool down the bird when it gets hotter. What happens is, on a hot day, the blood rushes to this gland to help the bird cool down by the surrounding air. That is why, the hotter the day is, the more pink these parts become. Some more African penguin facts have been compiled in the following.