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As one of the most remote destinations on Earth, South Georgia Island is best known for its rugged landscape, freezing climate, and extraordinary wildlife. Belgian photographer Yves Adams has visited the island countless times; however, during a recent expedition, he discovered something unexpected.
This past November, Adams arrived at the island’s St. Andrew’s Bay when a fellow photographer pointed out a strange bird waddling across the beach. It soon became clear that the bird was an incredibly rare all-black penguin.
Adams managed to capture images of the unique penguin in isolation before it returned to its colony. It lacked the distinctive yellow markings and white belly typical of its species, with its black feathers covering the entirety of its body. Against the background of the gray beach and when juxtaposed with the rest of its colony, this all-black penguin boasted a striking silhouette.
The penguin’s plumage is the result of melanism, a phenomenon that occurs very rarely within bird and mammal species. With an increase of melanin, a natural substance responsible for coloration, an animal’s skin or feathers dips into darker shades.
“It was completely accepted by the other birds and his size wasn’t different in any way,” Adams told PetaPixel.
Though striking on a photograph, the penguin’s coloration isn’t necessarily advantageous in the wild. A penguin’s white belly serves as camouflage from below when swimming through water, while its black overside shields it from above. This technique is known as countershading, where upper surfaces of the body are more darkly pigmented than lower areas.
This all-black penguin nevertheless astounds with its rarity and beauty. It’s also the second time Adams has encountered a strangely colored penguin. In 2021, he photographed an all-yellow penguin.
To discover more of his stunning wildlife photography, you can follow Yves Adams on Instagram and visit his website.
Penguins are typically known for their distinctive yellow, white, and black markings.
A king penguin at Fortuna Bay on South Georgia Island. (Photo: Andrew Shiva, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Wildlife photographer Yves Adams, however, managed to photograph an exceptionally rare all-black penguin while on an expedition in November.
This isn’t the first unusual penguin Adams has found. He’s also photographed an all-yellow penguin!
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Source: Wildlife Photographer Captures Ultra-Rare All-Black Penguin
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