King Penguin vs Northern Fulmar
Aptenodytes patagonicus compared with Fulmarus glacialis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | King Penguin | Northern Fulmar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Aptenodytes patagonicus | Fulmarus glacialis |
| Order | Sphenisciformes | Procellariiformes |
| Family | Spheniscidae | Procellariidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 95.0 cm (37.4 in) | 47.0 cm (18.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 64.0 cm (25.2 in) | 107.0 cm (42.1 in) |
| Weight | 14000.0 g (493.84 oz) | 750.0 g (26.46 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily lanternfish and squid caught during deep dives. Routinely dives to 100-300 meters, sometimes exceeding … | Fish, squid, crustaceans, offal from fishing vessels, and zooplankton. Feeds by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-diving. |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
King Penguin
Breeds on sub-Antarctic islands with flat or gently sloping beaches. Forages in the Southern Ocean.
Northern Fulmar
Open ocean and sea cliffs. Breeds on cliff ledges and grassy slopes on northern coastlines. Pelagic outside breeding season.
Song & Call Comparison
King Penguin
Uses individually unique complex calls for mate and chick recognition in noisy colonies. Produces a loud, musical trumpeting. Chick whistles are distinctive per family unit.
Northern Fulmar
A nasal, cackling 'kak-kak-kak-kak' or grunting 'uh-uh-uh' at the nest and colony. Less melodic than petrels. In flight gives occasional single nasal calls.
Geographic Range & Migration
King Penguin
Sub-Antarctic islands including South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, and Falkland Islands.
Northern Fulmar
North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Breeds from the Arctic south to Britain, France, and New England.
Conservation Status
King Penguin
Northern Fulmar
How to Tell Them Apart
King Penguin
Dark blue-grey back with white belly. Vivid orange-gold auricular patches on the sides of the head and upper breast. Silvery-grey upperparts.
Long, slender, slightly decurved bill with orange mandible plates
Northern Fulmar
Light morph: white head and underparts with grey wings and back. Dark morph: entirely grey. Tube-nosed bill and stiff-winged flight distinctive at sea.
Yellowish hooked bill with prominent tubular nostrils on top
About These Birds
King Penguin
The king penguin is the second-largest penguin species, known for its striking orange-gold head markings. Unlike most penguins, king penguins do not build nests — they incubate their single egg on their feet. Their 14-16 month breeding cycle is the longest of any penguin species.
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar is a long-lived seabird that can survive over 40 years. It defends its nest by projectile-vomiting a foul-smelling stomach oil at intruders, which can mat the feathers of predators and cause fatal loss of waterproofing. Fulmars have expanded their breeding range dramatically southward over the past two centuries.