Emperor penguins incubate a single egg balanced on their feet through winter.

The longer version

The emperor penguin breeds on Antarctic sea ice in midwinter, when there is no nest material at all. The single egg is transferred onto a parent's feet and held against a bare patch of skin, then covered by a fold of abdominal skin that keeps it at body temperature while the bird stands in the dark.

Pairs take turns. One incubates while the other walks to open water to feed, and they find each other again by call inside a colony of thousands. An egg dropped onto the ice in that cold usually freezes within seconds. The chick later rides the same feet until it can regulate its own heat.

Where this entry sits

Here you will find feathered trivia about flight, migration, nests, eggs, and the songs birds sing. Expect short surprising facts on penguins, owls, hummingbirds, and other familiar birds from gardens, forests, wetlands, and distant coastlines. The full list sits on the Birds page, where every entry is listed in order.