By JASMYN BEMBOOM
Staff Writer
The king penguin was spotted on the island of South Georgia, where the species gathers in the tens of thousands. King penguins are easily identified by the black and yellow feathers adorning their heads and necks, and the orange flash of colors running the length of their beaks. There was an animal that Belgian photographer Adam saw stood out from the rest, a bird with an ivory-white bill, a cream colored body and a mane of lemonhead feathers.
It’s not possible to tell if the yellow penguin is a male or a female just by looking at, Adam says. “If you’re a female, you’ll be fine, because there’s about three males to every female,” she says- but males that look different don’t stand much chance of mating. Generally, when uncommon coloration does get passed on, they can endanger the individuals and further increase their rarity.
When penguins have more pigment in their feathers than normal- a condition called melanism- it gives them a darker color overall. These darker animals may be more visible than other penguins in the water, and have a harder time sneaking up on fish. And paler penguins are more likely to be eaten by leopard seals or killer whales in the Antarctic.
