Mating Behaviors of King Penguins

I thought this picture was perfect for the discussion on breeding, since these King Penguins above are mating.
Researchers studied the mating behaviors of King Penguins, the second largest species of penguin, in South Georgia, near Antarctica, for four consecutive summers.

King Penguins have an average weight of twenty to forty pounds, and an average height of thirty inches. They prefer breeding on subantarctic islands, where there is no ice on the waters.

They incubate one egg for fifty-four days. Once the chick has hatched, it is fed twice a week by each parent. The parents look offshore for fish, and regurgitate it to their young. Even though other young penguin species go sea later in the season, King Penguin chick must huddle together to use each other for warmth and shelter.

The chicks must rely on their storage of fat, although the parents come back several times to feed them. King Penguins, unlike other penguin species molt before breeding. Molting is the shedding and replacement of feathers each year. Parents whose chick either did not hatch or did not make it through the difficult winter, will court, mate, and lay an egg in December.

On average, although King Penguins breed every year, they generally only raise one chick every other year. King Penguins rarely share the responsibility of raising their young with the same partner each year, unless they arrive on the island in time.

If a male of female was unhappy with their partner for reasons such as being inexperienced, they will search for a different mate the following year. Sometimes the old mate will fight with the new mate to prove who is healthier or smarter. Sometimes the penguins will reunite if the timing is right. Once the egg has hatched, the female goes to sea to replenish her fat storage for three weeks. She then relieves the male, who has been fasting this whole time. Penguins live on fat and a little on protein. Sometimes, if the female is at sea longer than expected, the male will actually abandon the egg to survive.

Olsson, et al. (1997). South Georgian Kings. Natural History, 106 (1). Retrieved on March 20, 2008, from EBSCOhost.