Hello and welcome to Penguin and Swallow Classes.

We are reception children and our teachers are Mrs Scott and Mrs Boardman.

Facts about Penguins

• Penguins are birds that do not fly. Instead of flying they work their flippers to help them swim.
• Penguins eat fish, squid, krill, shrimp and other crustaceans.
• Penguins catch their food in the water.  They catch the food using their beaks and swallow it whole.
• Penguins live mostly in Antarctica, South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Galapagos Islands.
• Penguins spend half of their time on land and the other half in the water.
• Seal leopards, sea lions, orcas, skuas, snakes, sharks, and fox are all predators of the penguins.
• Penguins living in cold climates have also known to huddle together in large groups to keep themselves warm.
• Penguins take very good care of their eggs.  After the female penguin lays her egg she goes out to look for food.  The male penguin will sit on the egg to protect it until she returns. When she comes back he leaves to look for food.
• It takes about 35 days for a penguin egg to hatch.
• A baby penguin is called a chick.
• A chick will leave the nest when they are around one month old.
• Penguins can be playful.  They like to go tobogganing. They will lay on their tummy and slide through the ice and snow. Penguins will also dive off cliffs into the water, get out and dive again for fun.

Swallow Facts

• Swallows are small birds with dark glossy blue backs, red throats, pale under parts and long distinctive tail streamers.

• They are extremely agile in flight and spend most of their time on the wing.

• They are widespread breeding birds in the Northern Hemisphere, migrating south in winter.

• Recent declines due to loss of habitat quality in both their breeding and wintering grounds mean they are an Amber List species.

• Swallows are found in areas where there is a ready and accessible supply of small insects. They are particularly fond of open pasture with access to water and quiet farm buildings. Large reedbeds in late summer and early autumn can be good places to look for pre-migration roosts.