King penguin

The king penguin is the second-largest penguin in the world, after the emperor. It has a sleek black-and-white coat and glowing golden-orange patches on the sides of its neck. Its bill is longer and more slender than an emperor penguin's, with a colourful stripe along the lower part.

King penguins do not raise their chicks on Antarctic sea ice. Instead they form huge colonies on sub-Antarctic islands such as South Georgia, the Falklands, Crozet and Macquarie. A female lays one egg, and the parents take turns holding it on their feet beneath a warm flap of skin.

Raising a king penguin chick takes a long time — more than a year from egg to independence. Because of that long cycle, pairs usually succeed only in some years. Adults dive deep into the Southern Ocean to catch lanternfish and squid for themselves and their growing chick.

Across the world, king penguin numbers are still large and the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. Even so, ocean warming and changes in prey can help one colony while making life harder for another. Healthy seas around their island homes are vital for these golden-necked birds.