Penguins are flightless. Although they have wings, they don’t use them to get airborne and therefore, they don’t fly in the traditional sense we would usually associate with other birds. Being partially aquatic they spend half their lives in water and the other half on land but never in the air.
One common answer is, Penguins can’t fly through the air, but they can fly through the water. Here a Gentoo Penguin leaps out of the water when heading to shore. Photo by Peter Orr via Birdshare. Well, in a sense they really do fly, only through the water, not through the air. Penguins have strong wings and strong pectoral muscles to power them.
You should be wondering “How do Penguins fly?”
What is maybe more amazing is they can fly up to speeds of 20 miles per hour. When you watch penguins under water you can see the way they move their wings and the forces that are generated by their forelimbs are very similar, if not identical, to the forces of birds that fly in the air. They are flying with their forelimbs (wings).
While we were researching we ran into the inquiry “Why did Penguins stop flying?”.
Penguins lost their ability to fly almost centuries ago, and scientists do have an answer to what is the reason behind quitting flying. Research says that for those birds that were becoming experts in swimming, their bodies were becoming too heavy to fly. However, to justify only one aspect of why they quit flying.
Do penguins have wings?
Penguins are birds, so they do have wings. However, the wing structures of penguins are evolved for swimming, rather than flying in the traditional sense. Penguins swim underwater at speeds of up to 15 to 25 miles per hour.
You might be thinking “Do Penguins fold their wings like birds?”
In fact, penguins are the only birds that are unable to fold their wings. Their wing bones are fused straight, making the wing rigid and powerful, like a flipper. By the same token, penguins aren’t nearly as concerned about being light as birds that fly through the air.
Why can’t penguins swim?
Typical wings are too flexible, and hence, ill-suited for swimming. Water being denser than air, penguin wings are shorter and stouter than the wings of flying birds. Why do Penguins have Wings if they can’t Fly?
Why do penguins have holes in their bodies?
Penguins’ bodies are different to birds that fly in the air in other ways. Birds that fly in air have to be light, so some of their bones have special holes in them, a bit like a piece of Swiss cheese. But penguins don’t have to be light to fly underwater, so their bones are all solid.