BIRDS. I absolutely adore bird and painting them has been getting me out of some art block, probably drop a batch every weekend for this month

(@elliottnotyet’s marchirp!!)

Chinstrap penguins By: Unknown photographer From: Wildlife Fact-File 1990s

Chinstrap Penguin

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Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica), Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), and Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

[2377/11080] Chinstrap penguin - Pygoscelis antarcticus

Order: Sphenisciformes (penguins) Family: Spheniscidae Genus: Pygoscelis (brush-tailed penguins)

Photo credit: David Howe & Rosanne Dawson via Macaulay Library

ANTARTIC PENGUINS CHAMPIONS OF POWER NAPS

Microsleep in humans are dangerous when driving, but just now, researchers found out penguins dominated microsleep, using these short sleep periods as strategy to balance sleep and vigilance requirements. An international team of researchers at the King George Island were looking at breeding chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) using remote electroencephalogram monitoring, to they found out penguins nodded off more than 10,000 times a day, for only around 4 seconds at a time, but penguins still managed to accumulate close to 11 hours of sleep.

The brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), are very smart birds, and one of the main predators in nesting colonies. During incubation, skuas are known to prey on penguin eggs mainly on the border of the colony. As one penguin parent must therefore guard the eggs or small chicks continuously while its partner is away on foraging trips lasting several days, they face the challenge of needing to sleep while protecting their offspring In addition, they also have to effectively defend their nest site from intruding penguins, they need to stay alert.

-Recordings showing typical microsleep episodes in chinstrap penguins.

The investment in microsleeps by successfully breeding penguins suggests that the benefits of sleep can accrue incrementally.

Reference (Open Access): Libourel et al. 2023. Nesting chinstrap penguins accrue large quantities of sleep through seconds-long microsleeps. Science

In humans, nodding off for a few seconds is a clear sign of insufficient sleep – and can be dangerous in some situations, such as when driving a car. ​But a new study published on Thursday finds chinstrap penguins snooze thousands of times per day, accumulating their daily sleep requirement of more than 11 hours in short bursts averaging just four seconds. ​The flightless birds might have evolved this trait because of their need to remain constantly vigilant, according to the authors of the paper in Science. ​The researchers argued that the findings show, contrary to prior assumptions, the benefits of sleep can accrue incrementally, at least in some species. Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus), named for the thin black band of plumage that extends from ear to ear, may be the most abundant species of penguin.

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The chinstrap penguin lives in multiple places around the Antarctic region. They aggressively defend their nests from thieves who want to steal stones, and at the same time will try to steal stones from other penguins' nests.

Unsure as to how tumblr is and how it works. Here are some penguins.

A chinstrap penguin tends to its chicks in Antarctica's South Shetland Islands.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ACACIA JOHNSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Chinstrap penguin 

Photographed by Daisy Gilardini

I must know:

Pls reblog and fight for your champion in the tags! I'd love to see why you choose your fighter!

Round 2 Match 3

In the last round, the Snares penguin beat another less-known penguin, the Humboldt. The Chinstrap beat two species of penguins, the Royal and the Macaroni.

A couple of facts to take with us into round 2: Snares penguin colonies have to move nesting sites every year, partially because of the sheer amount of pooping. Chinstrap penguins are named for their chin stripes, and make nests out of pebbles.