These Penguin Coloring Pages Are The Perfect Ice Breaker For Kid Parties
Penguins are simply the cutest. Their little waddles and the way they fall and slide on their bellies can make even the most melancholy of people chuckle. They’re just a ton of fun, right? The fact that males stay with the eggs is also both notable and admirable. There are few better dads in the animal kingdom! We certainly know a lot more about penguins since they were first noted in 1497 by Alvero Vello, a crew member of famed Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama. Or since Ferdinand Magellan referred to the birds as “strange geese” in 1520. Even now, centuries later, penguins aren’t without intrigue. For instance, many scientists are still debating the exact number of penguin species: It’s somewhere between 17 to 20 varieties. It seems the truth about this monochromatic type of bird isn’t all black and white. Of course, neither are all penguins. Thank goodness! That would make for some pretty boring penguin coloring pages — and penguins are not boring creatures.
From their icy Antarctic habitat to the colorful crowns of some species’ heads, color abounds in the penguin world. Sometimes they even wear fashionable winter accessories, right? Plus, when you’re coloring, who says you have to stick to reality? If your kiddo wants to dream up a world with a pink penguin, then so be it. Aside from the opportunity to use their imaginations, coloring helps kids developmentally, too. For instance, the art of coloring inside the lines teaches both hand-eye coordination and self-regulation.
If your kiddo needs a little help in any of those areas or if you just need a few minutes of quiet, these penguin coloring pages are the answer. As a bonus, we threw in some fun penguin facts. And once your little one finishes these printables, they can try their hand at our airplane coloring pages, pig coloring pages, ladybug coloring pages, soccer coloring pages, and more.
Free Penguin Coloring Pages
Penguin No. 1
Look at this adorable penguin family. Look at it! Ask your kiddo to fill in the background and explain why that baby bird is so happy. Fun fact: If this little penguin is from the Gentoo, Chinstrap, or Rockhopper varieties of penguin, it will mate for life. But before penguins were even called penguins, they were first referred to as, “strange geese.”
Penguin No. 2
This guy looks a little round, but that will actually work in his favor during mating season. Female penguins are known to like their counterparts more chunky, so they stand a better chance of surviving when the female goes hunting for weeks and leaves Papa penguin to incubate the egg.
Penguin No. 3
This cutie is sporting a truly fabulous scarf, but he doesn’t need it for his partner to find him. Penguin couples have distinctive calls they use to locate each other. Here’s a terrifying fact: If an emperor penguins’ baby dies, they will often kidnap another penguin’s chick. (SMH…)
Penguin No. 4
Of course, that scarf and hat might come in handy during their once-a-year molting season. It lasts about three weeks and leaves penguins so unprotected from the cold that they don’t even swim during the process. Brrrrrrr!
Penguin No. 5
Ever watched the penguins at the aquarium? You might notice that they don’t do a typical “swan dive” down into the water. Instead, they jump up first. Why? Doing so helps their feathers release air bubbles and makes them swim faster. Fun fact: The fastest penguins belong to the gentoo family. They can swim up to 22 miles per hour! Penguins can also dive more than 800 feet into the water. In fact, an emperor penguin did the deepest dive ever recorded by these wobbly creatures. It plunged 1,850 feet!
Penguin No. 6
Penguins don’t live in igloos, guys. Gentoo penguins make nests from pebbles, mostly. Other penguin varieties dig burrows that are just barely big enough to stand in while they take turns incubating their egg. And did you know penguins’ black and white color actually helps them camouflage in the water? The black blends into the ocean and their white belly goes unnoticed by predators swimming below them.
Penguin No. 7
Sledding looks like fun, right? That might be part of the reason penguins often flop onto their bellies and slide from place to place. It’s also faster (which may have more to do with penguins choosing this for transportation). However, something you may never see in penguin wildlife, is them hanging out with polar bears. Terrifying fact: Polar bears are the largest carnivore on land (so that’s probably a big reason why).
Penguin No. 8
Want to meet a penguin? You’re in luck! Since most penguin foes live in the water, penguins are pretty trusting of land-dwelling creatures — including humans. Now you just have to get yourself to Antarctica or another penguin habitat. And doesn’t this big guy look pretty tall? In fact, the tallest penguin is the emperor penguin, which grows to about 47 inches. But the biggest penguins lived more than 60 million years ago. These ancient birds were almost six feet tall and weighed about 220 pounds!
Penguin No. 9
Yes, this cutie patootie is waving at you. Not only do penguins trust humans, but they’re also very social creatures in general. Accordingly, they often live in large colonies called “rookeries,” “rafts,” or “waddles.” In the penguin world, it’s never rude to pop over for some tea.
Penguin No. 10
This penguin looks toasty, huh? Did you know that even in the Arctic, penguins can overheat? These birds are known to huddle together to stay warm. That sometimes leads to the ones in the center getting too hot and needing to escape the huddle. But penguins aren’t just built for the cold. Sure, you can find them in Antarctica, but they’re also in the Galapagos Islands, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, and Chile.
Penguin No. 11
Guess which penguin has the largest family. It’s the macaroni penguins. There are about 18 million of them, which is about how many people live in Chile. Macaroni penguins also live pretty long.
Click here to print all of the penguin coloring pages at once!
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