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Gentoo Penguin
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic
Gentoo penguins have plenty to be apprehensive about when entering Antarctica's frigid waters. To reach the summer's bounty of fish, squid and krill, they often must negotiate a phalanx of hungry sea leopards.
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Baby Royal Tern
Photograph by Paul Winterman, My Shot
Young royal terns, like this one learning to fly on a Florida beach, leave their nests within a day of hatching. They gather with other hatchlings in groups called crèches that can be thousands of birds strong. At feeding time, parents find their chick in the crowd by listening for its unique call.
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Black-Footed Albatrosses
Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic
Black-footed albatrosses like this male (right) and female on Hawaii's Tern Island may meet to dance and work on nest construction for several seasons before breeding, nurturing a bond that can last 20 years or more. -
Australian Pelicans
Photograph by Amy Toensing, National Geographic
The pouched bill of the Australian pelican can be up to 1.5 feet (50 centimeters) long. These massive seabirds use a wingspan topping 8 feet (2.5 meters) to glide gracefully, often for hundreds of miles, using thermal updrafts to gain altitude.
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Australasian Gannets
Photograph by Lance Peters, My Shot
Australasian gannets have one of the most dramatic hunting styles on Earth. They fly low over the ocean in flocks, seeking crowds of fish. When a gannet spots a target, it folds its wings back and rockets downward, piercing the water like an arrow. A serrated beak grasps the prey, which is swallowed whole.
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King Penguins
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic
King penguins have established colonies across seven islands and island groups in the southern reaches of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. As tall as three feet (one meter) and weighing an average of 30 pounds (14 kilograms), they are the second largest penguin, after the emperor.
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Puffin and Razorbills
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
Dapper black-and-white razorbills (at right) and bright-beaked puffins (at left and in air, at center) find a haven on Scotland's Shiant Islands. It's estimated that nearly 8,000 razorbills and more than 200,000 puffins use these islands as their breeding grounds each year.
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Puffin
Photograph by Kevin Smith, My Shot
Bright-beaked Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives at sea, speeding through the air at up to 55 miles (88 kilometers) an hour, darting underwater to hunt, or resting on the waves. They return to land each year to form breeding colonies, collecting twigs and grass to build their cliff-top nests.
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Kittiwake Bird
Photograph by Karen Kasmauski, National Geographic
During the summer, kittiwake birds, like this one guarding eggs on Alaska's Prince William Sound, form cliffside breeding colonies that can be many thousand strong. They spend their winters at sea hunting in flocks for fish and marine invertebrates.
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Blue-Footed Booby
Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic
Blue-footed boobies are aptly named, and males take great pride in their fabulous feet. During mating rituals, male birds show off their feet to prospective mates with a high-stepping strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive the mate.
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