Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteriThe largest penguin, and the only bird to breed on Antarctic sea ice in the depths of winter. Males incubate the egg on their feet for two months without feeding.
1.2 m tallAntarcticaNear threatened
Every penguin, from the ice to the equator
There are eighteen living species of penguin. They share the same blueprint — a flightless, torpedo-shaped seabird built to fly underwater — yet range from the metre-tall emperor to the knee-high little penguin. Here they are, grouped by family.
Great penguins · Aptenodytes
The giants of the family
The two largest species, both deep divers that raise a single chick through brutal cold.
King penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicusSecond only to the emperor, with vivid orange ear patches. Kings form vast, year-round colonies on sub-antarctic islands and take over a year to fledge a chick.
0.95 m tallSub-antarcticLeast concern
Gentoo penguin
Pygoscelis papuaA white-bonnet marking and bright orange bill set the gentoo apart — and it is the fastest swimmer of all penguins, clocking bursts over 30 km/h underwater.
0.8 m tallAntarctic & islandsLeast concern
Brush-tailed · Pygoscelis
Birds of the Antarctic shore
Stiff-tailed penguins that nest in noisy summer rookeries on and around the Antarctic continent.
Adélie penguin
Pygoscelis adeliaeThe classic tuxedoed penguin with a white eye-ring, nesting in stone-lined scrapes right around Antarctica.
0.7 mAntarcticaLeast concern
Chinstrap penguin
Pygoscelis antarcticusNamed for the thin black line under its chin, this bold penguin climbs steep slopes to nest in enormous colonies.
0.72 mAntarctic PeninsulaLeast concern
Banded · Spheniscus
The warm-water penguins
Burrow-nesting penguins of temperate and tropical coasts, marked by bold black bands across the chest.
African penguin
Spheniscus demersusSouthern Africa's only penguin, famous at Boulders Beach near Cape Town — and now critically endangered.
0.6 mSouth AfricaCritically endangered
Magellanic penguin
Spheniscus magellanicusPatagonia's burrow-nester, gathering in the hundreds of thousands at colonies like Punta Tombo in Argentina.
0.7 mSouth AmericaLeast concern
Humboldt penguin
Spheniscus humboldtiNamed for the cold current it fishes, this penguin breeds on the arid coasts and islands of Peru and Chile.
0.68 mPeru & ChileVulnerable
Galápagos penguin
Spheniscus mendiculusThe only penguin found north of the equator, and the rarest, surviving on cool upwellings around the Galápagos.
0.5 mEquatorEndangered
Crested · Eudyptes
The ones with the golden plumes
Rock-hopping penguins with flamboyant yellow eyebrow crests and fierce red eyes.
Southern rockhopper
Eudyptes chrysocomeSmall and pugnacious, bouncing over boulders with both feet to reach cliff-top colonies.
0.52 mSub-antarcticVulnerable
Macaroni penguin
Eudyptes chrysolophusOne of the world's most numerous penguins, with sweeping orange head plumes that meet between the eyes.
0.7 mSub-antarcticVulnerable
Fiordland penguin
Eudyptes pachyrhynchusA shy, forest-nesting crested penguin from the rainforest coasts of New Zealand's South Island.
0.55 mNew ZealandNear threatened
Little & yellow-eyed
Penguins of the southern beaches
Two one-of-a-kind penguins from Australia and New Zealand — including the species you can watch at the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
Little penguin
Eudyptula minorThe smallest penguin on earth, slate-blue above and barely a foot tall. It comes ashore after dark — most famously in the thousands at Phillip Island.
0.33 mAustralia & NZLeast concern
Yellow-eyed penguin
Megadyptes antipodesA pale-eyed, forest-edge penguin of New Zealand — solitary, secretive and one of the rarest penguins in the world.
0.65 mNew ZealandEndangered
See them for yourself
Now find out where to watch them
Each species has its strongholds. Our guide maps the wild colonies you can actually reach, season by season.
Where to see penguins