Field Notes

Field Notes is where we write up the real science behind our penguins: pebble thieves, four-second naps, belly-slide commutes and the long polar night. Every fact links to the researchers who found it.
A group of Adélie penguins on rocky ground in Antarctica, where penguins gather stones for their nests.
Why do penguins steal pebbles? The great pebble heist
In a penguin colony, a good pebble is worth stealing. And nobody’s pebbles are ever quite safe. Read more...
Snow-covered mountains and glaciers across a bay of floating ice in Antarctica.
How long is Antarctica dark? Polar night, by location
Six months of night is true in exactly one place. Everywhere else in Antarctica, the dark is shorter. Read more...
A chinstrap penguin waddling across the snow with one flipper out, beside dark rocks.
Chinstrap penguin facts: a day in the life
Climbing, belly-sliding, diving with friends and a few thousand naps: one penguin’s day, pieced together from what scientists have measured. Read more...
A chinstrap penguin with its eyes closed and its beak raised, above other chinstraps resting on the rocks.
How do penguins sleep? 10,000 naps a day
How a chinstrap penguin sleeps on the job, four seconds at a time. Read more...