A penguin that breeds along the Antarctic coast, recognised by a white ring around each eye.
Males and females are similar in size and are difficult to tell apart by appearance.
Even on islands surrounded by sea ice, large Adélie penguin colonies leave clues visible from space. Guano stains in satellite imagery prompted a major survey of the Danger Islands near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Researchers combined observations on land with aerial photographs to survey breeding grounds that are difficult to reach.
The expedition visited in December 2015. Researchers counted nests directly in smaller groups and used drone photographs to count incubating birds across larger areas. Automated detections were checked against manual counts. The resulting estimate was about 751,000 breeding pairs across the archipelago. Colonies overlooked by earlier surveys substantially changed the known distribution of Adélie penguins in this region.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The researchers reporting the Danger Islands survey in 2018 recommended including these major breeding grounds in plans for marine or other protected areas. Comparisons of satellite and historical aerial imagery did not reveal the severe declines seen along the western Antarctic Peninsula. The authors highlighted the region as a potential future refuge for Adélie penguins and called for further protection and regular monitoring.