The frozen south
On the Antarctic continent and its peninsula, emperors breed through the polar winter while gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguins crowd the summer shorelines.
Meet the birds of the southern seas, one colony at a time.
From the emperor on Antarctic ice to the little penguin coming ashore at dusk on Phillip Island — a living guide to every penguin species and the wild shores where you can watch them.
The animals
Flightless, fearless and built for the sea
Penguins traded flight for swimming. Their wings became stiff flippers, their feathers packed into a waterproof coat, and their black-and-white coats turned into camouflage against predators above and below. There are eighteen species in all — and all but one live south of the equator.
About the birds
18living species of penguin worldwide
1.2 mheight of the emperor, the largest of all
33 cmthe little penguin, the smallest, at Phillip Island
1species that nests north of the equator — the Galápagos
The sub-antarctic islands
Windswept specks of land like South Georgia and Macquarie hold staggering colonies — hundreds of thousands of king penguins alongside crested macaroni and royal penguins.
Temperate coasts
Cold ocean currents carry penguins far north of the ice — to South America, southern Africa, New Zealand and Australia, where little penguins come ashore each night at the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
The equator
The Galápagos penguin lives further north than any other, fishing in the cool Cromwell Current that upwells around the islands — the only penguin you can watch while standing on the equator.
In the field
A world of penguins, frame by frame
See all placesPortraits from the colonies — crèches, courtship, moult and the long walk up the beach.
Where to see them
Wild shores around the world
See all placesFrom a city breakwater in Melbourne to a quarter of a million kings on a sub-antarctic beach — the wild colonies and reserves where penguins come ashore.
Victoria, Australia
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Western Cape, South Africa
Boulders Beach
Patagonia, Argentina
Punta Tombo
Isabela, Ecuador
Galápagos Islands
South Atlantic
Falkland Islands
South Georgia
St Andrews Bay
Weddell & Gerlache
Antarctic Peninsula
South Island, New Zealand
Oamaru & Otago
Melbourne, Australia
St Kilda Breakwater
Paracas, Peru
Ballestas Islands
Good to know
Questions about watching penguins
The Phillip Island Penguin Parade in Victoria, Australia is among the most dependable — little penguins come ashore there every night of the year. Boulders Beach in South Africa and the colonies of the Falkland Islands and Punta Tombo in Argentina are also easy to reach and active for much of the year.
No. Only a handful of species — emperor, Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo — are true polar birds. Most penguins live on temperate coasts, from South Africa and South America to Australia and New Zealand, and the Galápagos penguin lives right on the equator.
It depends on the colony. Breeding and moult — when birds are ashore in numbers — usually fall between spring and late summer in each hemisphere. Our where to see them guide lists the best window for each location.
Keep a respectful distance, stay on marked paths and boardwalks, never use flash, and let the birds choose their route. Most managed colonies, including Phillip Island, have viewing areas and rangers that let you watch closely without interfering.
Several species are. The African and Galápagos penguins and the yellow-eyed penguin are among the most threatened, mainly from warming seas, overfishing and habitat loss. Visiting well-run colonies responsibly helps fund the research and protection that keeps them going.
From the journal
Field notes from the colonies
Read the journal
The catastrophic moult, explained
Why penguins spend weeks stranded ashore, unable to swim, as they replace every feather at once.
Read about the moult
How we count a colony of thousands
From burrow surveys to satellite tags — the quiet science behind the numbers at Phillip Island.
Read about colony counts
A season on South Georgia
What it is like to stand among a quarter of a million king penguins on a sub-antarctic beach.
Read about South Georgia
Start your own expedition
Plan a wild penguin encounter
Tell us where you are headed and we will point you to the right colony, the right season and the right way to watch — from a dusk parade to a polar voyage.
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