Emperor Penguin

The deepest-diving bird known, the Emperor Penguin descends beyond 500 metres and can hold its breath for over twenty minutes while pursuing Antarctic silverfish, krill, and squid. Standing around 115 cm tall and weighing some 30 kg, it is the largest living penguin, black-headed and black-backed with a white belly and yellow-orange ear patches that fade to pale yellow across the upper breast. It is the only bird to breed through the Antarctic winter, incubating a single egg on the pack ice for roughly 62 to 66 days; chicks fledge after about 150 days. In the crowded dark of the colony, individuals locate mates and offspring by voice alone, each bird's resonant trumpeting call unique in frequency. Breeding colonies are scattered along the entire Antarctic coastline. The species is classified as Near Threatened.