Why are penguins birds?

We’ve all seen penguins, if not in real life, then in some cartoon like Donald Duck. Some penguins have even got their own shows, although they were never popular enough to get recognition like ducks and mice. One penguin that got recognized was THE Penguin from the Batman series, although that might not have been the kind of recognition that the penguin race was seeking.

Seeing The Penguin from Batman, one would be hard pressed to believe that these animals are actually birds. They can’t fly, and they swim in ice-cold water.

But, believe it or not, penguins are actually birds. Here are some reasons why penguins are birds.

Birds are not defined by their ability to fly

Although this might be hard to believe, all birds can’t fly. And we’re not talking about the kind of birds who should be able to fly but never learn how to in their childhood. No, we’re talking about entire races of birds who can actually not fly.

Some birds have lost their ability to fly in the domestication process by humans. Chickens belong to this category. (Yes, believe it or not, pre-historic chickens used to be able to fly. Then came humans…. Just imagine, a big cock flying right at you, aiming for your.. yeah, let’s move on..)

Another example would be the peacock (what’s with birds and cocks?). They can’t fly either. They can just look beautiful. And often, in their quest to look as beautiful as possible, their vanity cost them their lives for not being able to flee from predators quickly enough.

But we’re getting off-topic here. The point is, something doesn’t have to be able to fly in order to be called a “bird”. So that objection can now be checked off the list.

Some birds can swim

Do you think that swimming birds are strange? It’s not as strange as it might seem at first.

Consider this. You’re in the park, a hot summer day. You walk around until you come across a pond. What’s there? BIRDS! SWIMMING!

Yes, they are called ducks (like our friend Donald, mentioned above). Or Swans. Or whatever else weird birds that can’t fly but can swim.

Penguins just take this swimming business one step further – by swimming underwater. That doesn’t make them “non-birds”.

Birds come in all shapes and forms

Have you ever thought to yourself “What the f–k is that?”, just to discover that it’s actually a bird?

No? Well, ok, not everybody has. But that doesn’t make my point less relevant.

Birds DO come in all shapes and forms. One of those forms are called “Penguins”. Deal with it!

Some birds can talk

Ok, so this one doesn’t actually have anything to do with penguins. I just thought it’s kind of cool that some birds – parrots – can actually talk back to you. So I wanted to have it in here somewhere.

Moving on..

Under water, penguins look like airplanes

If this doesn't look like an airplane (with just a little bit of squinting), then I don't know what does.

If you look at a penguin swimming under water, and you squint a little, it with some effort you can actually make it look like an airplane. That is bird-like to me!

Or, you could actually stretch it a bit and say that they ARE in fact flying! The only difference is, instead of flying in a sea of air, they are flying in a sea of water. So there, penguins CAN swim!

Although not-flying doesn’t mean something is a non-bird, flying definitely makes something a bird! (Living creatures, that is, not planes and such.)

Conclusion – why penguins ARE birds

There you have it, a lot of evidence of penguins being birds. Now you can sleep without worry – but be careful so you don’t dream of big cocks flying towards you! (Not that kind of cock, you pervert!)

Tags: birds, featured, penguins

Category: Nature