diagnostics
94-95 cm; 9-15 kg. A tall, massive penguin (the world's second largest penguin after the Emperor), with a long, pointed orange-based bill. Adults blue-black above and white below. There are dusky yellow filoplumes on the crown, and two orange ear-patches on the sides of the head, narrowing onto the neck where the colour diffuses onto the throat and upper breast. Bill black with orange or pink plate on lower mandible. Eyes brown. Feet black. Immature duller overall and with dull yellow, not orange ear-patches and all-black bill (Del Hoyo et al.1992).
trophic
King Penguins breed on relatively flat beaches without ice or snow and which provide easy access to the sea (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, numbers of adults at colonies increase rapidly between September and late October. Most King Penguins moult from October to February and laying takes place from late November to February, the date being influenced by the outcome of the previous breeding attempt (du Plessis et al. 1994). King Penguins incubate a single egg, brooding the small chicks on their feet (Marchant and Higgins 1990). Incubation is by both sexes and lasts 52-56 days, with stints of 12-21 days (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, chicks hatch between late January and mid-April (du Plessis et al. 1994). The overall breeding period, from laying to chick fledging, lasts about 13.5 months (du Plessis et al. 1994), so that only two successful breeding cycles are possible per pair every three years (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Breeding success is 30-50% and birds attain sexual maturity at 5-7 years old (del Hoyo et al. 1992). King Penguins feed mainly on myctophids and squids (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, fish accounted for 87% of the wet mass of food (Adams and Klages 1987). King Penguins forage up to 900 km from Marion Island when feeding chicks (Adams and Klages 1987). In winter, birds often move west of the island to feed, some reaching the Atlantic Ocean. King Penguins may dive deeper than 240 m but mostly feed at depths shallower than 50 m.
