Desktop images

 

Desktop images

My current desktop image is of penguins processing towards the ocean. They look so purposeful.

I have identified them as either Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) or African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) but could well be wrong on both counts.

Although I like penguins, and enjoy seeing them cavorting on rocks and in the sea, my knowledge of them is not extensive and I have to turn to the internet to try and discover more about them. The desktop image is not clear enough to make a decisive identification.

                        Magellanic penguin  (Spheniscus magellanicus) 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The Magellanic penguin is native to South America and was named after Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who first observed them in 1520. These penguins can have a lifespan of 25 years in the wild, and longer in captivity. One individual, called Captain Eo, lived at San Francisco Zoo and was 40 when he died in 2022.

Magellanic penguins are known to be monogamous and raise their two chicks collaboratively. Young males seeking a mate have a call that sounds like a braying donkey. They are sometimes called ‘jackass penguins,’ because of this distinctive cry, along with some other penguins, like the African penguin.

Their diet consists of ocean fish, squid, krill, crustaceans, and jelly fish and they regularly dive 50 metres in search of their prey.

                            African penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

                                        Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is the only penguin native to the Old World. (The Old World refers to those parts of the globe known before the 15^th century - Europe, Asia, and Africa. The New World references  North America, South America, and the Caribbean, which were discovered by European explorers during the late 15^th century and afterwards.)

The African penguin, in common with most penguin species, is monogamous, but is also critically endangered. Both parents share the upbringing of their two chicks. They feed on sardines, mackerel, anchovies, squid, and shrimps. Their life expectancy is up to 25 years, increasing to 34 years in captivity.

African penguin eggs were considered a delicacy into the middle 1960s, being collected in the thousands. At the same time, guano was being removed to be used as fertiliser, thus depriving nesting birds of material for burrowing.