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Kōrero: Penguins

Erect-crested penguins preening

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Erect-crested penguins preening

During the breeding season, penguins engage in pair-bonding activity such as mutual preening, especially in those awkward places around the face and under the chin. Like most feathered and haired animals, they harbour their own specially adapted species of ticks and lice. Penguins spend a lot of time preening, to maintain the feathers in good condition. Spreading oil from their preening gland helps keep them waterproof.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10056355

by Tui De Roy

Courtesy of Roving Tortoise Worldwide Nature Photography

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Lloyd Spencer Davis, Penguins – Crested penguins, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/6413/erect-crested-penguins-preening (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Lloyd Spencer Davis, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.