Large raft of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua), group feeding at Booth Island, Antarctica, Polar Regions

King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) breeding and nesting colony on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Gentoo penguin feeding large chick, Gourdin Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Gentoo penguin feeding large chick, Gourdin Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

King penguins (aptenodytes patagonicus) right whale bay, south georgia, large group huddled together in snowy terrain

King penguins (aptenodytes patagonicus) right whale bay, south georgia, large group in snowy landscape

Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) large group on iceberg, Yalour Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Large bull Southern Elephant Seal; Mirounga leonina, fighting at Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Antarctica, in a King Penguin colony.

King penguins (aptenodytes patagonicus) right whale bay, south georgia, large group in snowy landscape

Adult Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) in the Falkland Islands. This is the smallest yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin in the genus Eudyptes. It reaches a length of 45-58 cm (18-23 in) and typically weighs 2-3.4 kg (4.4-7.5 lb), although there are records of exceptionally large rockhoppers weighing 5 kg (11 lbs). Their common name refers to the fact that unlike many other penguins which negotiate obstacles by sliding on their bellies or by awkward climbing using their flipper-like wings as aid, Rockhoppers will try to jump over boulders and across cracks. This behavior is by no means unique to this species however - at least the other "crested" penguins of the genus Eudyptes hop around rocks too. Southern Rockhopper Penguins have a global population of roughly 1 million pairs, perhaps a bit more. About two-thirds of the global population belongs to E. c. chrysocome which breeds on the Falkland Islands and on islands off Argentina and southern Chile. The Southern Rockhopper Penguin is classified as Vulnerable species by the IUCN.

Large colony of King Penguins (Aptenodytes Patagonicus). Sandy Bay, Macquarie Island, Subantarctic Australia.

Travellers in bright orange waterproofs observing a group of king penguins, and a large fur seal in the foreground, South Georgia Island, Falklands Islands

A birdwatcher is on the lookout for a particular penguin, which left for sea about a week ago. He needs to catch it just as it returns to land, before it enters the colony to feed its chick. This is to recover the GPS tag glued to its plumage, which has measured a large number of parameters (dive depth, immersion time, water temperature and salinity, and above all GPS position). Cabane Guetteur, Ratmanoff king penguin colony, Courbet peninsula, Kerguelen archipelago.