Macaroni Penguin

By Tommy D.

         Birds are very intriguing animals .  The penguin is one bird that cannot fly.  Most birds can fly though.  Also, some  birds have air pockets in their hollow bones so it can fly.  Did you know that birds are warm blooded.  That means that their body temperature stays the same.  Birds have no teeth.  What they do have is called a gizzard.  I bet you are wondering what a gizzard is.  When you see a bird  eat a pebble that goes into their gizzard.  The pebble rips up the food so he can digest it more efficiently.  Birds are vertebrates.  That simply means that birds have a backbone.  Also birds have three different  kinds of feathers.  They have down feathers, contour feathers, and flight feathers.  I guess birds have some similarities and differences.

The bird I think is cool is the Macaroni penguin.  The Macaroni penguin has a average weight of 5.5 kilograms.  The average length around it is 70 centimeters.  They are substantially bigger than rockhoppers.  Females are smaller than males but, have similar plumage.

Macaroni penguins have many predators.  One of their predators is the sea lion.  The sea lion waits in the water until its dinner comes.  When the penguins are in the water the sea lion is in hot pursuit.  The penguins dive deeper into the water because it is darker.  When the penguins think they lost him the they swim fast to the surface and pop out of the water.  Then they land safely on the icy ground.     

    Macaroni penguins eat a variety  of things.  Let me tell you some.  One thing that the Macaroni penguin eats is squid.  In fact, that is its favorite food.  A chicks average meal size is 200 grams.  They also eat fish and crustaceans.  Aren't Macaroni penguins an interesting animal .  I hope you liked my bird report  about the Macaroni penguin.