The behaviour of most birds is complex. Unlike the situation with human beings, anyone investigating penguin behaviour just can't go up to a penguin and ask him "How are you feeling?" It doesn't work like that. So what remains is observation and interpretation. Much of behaviour is theoretical and postulation. Some of behaviour is concrete (what will happen if you sever this nerve, etc.). So, we have to think of behaviour in non-human terms. We have to avoid assessing penguins in terms of human behaviour. They aren't like us, and they don't act like us. They perform certain acts that we are incapable of performing, and they perform others for inconsistent reasons (much like us).

    Behaviour (ethology, in technical terms) is often a confusing subject to ponder for the above reasons. We tend to assume that animals act like us in some manner or that for our own understanding, we try to make it seem like they do. Even the most complex non-human animals execute some genetic programs that are unhindered by though processes. As you read these next three pages, refrain from thinking about what human beings do.

    When you think about breaking down animal behaviour -- in this case penguin behaviour -- one should think about answering four general questions:

• What is the survival value of the behaviour?
• What causes this behaviour?
• How did the penguin learn this behaviour?
• How did this behaviour evolve in penguins?

    These general questions were tossed about by a man many consider to be the father of animal behaviour, Noki Tinbergen. Keep in mind, that these are broad enough to be applied to most scientific endeavors as well. Furthermore, try to keep out of the frame of mind that biological systems are isolated. For example, does a penguin behave the way it does because it is written in his genes or because certain environmental factors caused him to act this way. So, where's the fine line between genetics, evolution and ethology? There is none. It's an interesting balance and integration of many biological facets that result in what you see when you look at penguins in the zoo, off the bow of a ship or while you're walking amongst them.

Alpha: The first letter of the Greek alphabet. Most often used as an adjective to describe males and females of species (e.g., alpha male, etc.) who rank first in a group. The alpha male is often a confused animal. In some species, the alpha male is the only one who mates; in others the alpha male rarely mates since he is so aggressive that he attacks females or spends too much time defending (and winning) his resources. To throw a wrench into that system, sometimes the alpha male hardly fights at all, simply because no one challenges him. One has to be careful to not automatically assume that the alpha male is the one who is fighting all the time.

Beta: The second letter of the Greek alphabet. Similar to alpha, only referring to the second male/female.

Dominance: The display of authority of one animal over another. Often another confused term. An animal may not always exert his or her dominance over another member of the group. However, his title as "domainant" may confer upon him or her the ready or instant access to mates or food. Dominance may be challenged constantly depending on species.

Economy: (as in the economics of fighting) the value placed upon the expenditure of energy reserves. The term economics can be used to assess the value placed upon the loss of energy to searching for food or for fighting, or for the time it takes to recover from those events. Economy is often used to describe the costs to female reproduction; we say it is energetically expensive. This word is not meant to convey a commodity value; however, it is useful for understanding the value of something that elicits a behaviour.

Foraging: the behaviours involved in searching for and acquiring food.

Hierarchy: A ranking system for members in a group that display dominance and submission. A hierarchy is not by definition linear in animal systems, although it can be. One would assume that A is dominant to B. B is dominant to C. C is dominant to D. That is a linear hierarchy. However, a true hierachy might be as follows: A is dominant to B; B is dominant to C; C is dominant to D, but D is dominant to B. It can get complicated.

Resource: Anything an animal wants to acquire or chooses to keep from loss. Thus, food can be considered a resource. Nesting sites, foraging territories, mates and watering holes are also considered resources.

Social: Referring to animals that live in groups or colonies sometimes. A branch of sociality is eusociality. Eusociality refers to specific colonies in which members have specific roles to fill (e.g., naked mole rats, ants, termites, etc.). Some species of penguins are social; none are eusocial.

Submission: The act of backing down from those more dominant.

Territory: The range of space that an animal considers to own or control. Not all animals are territorial, nor are territorial species constantly defending their territories.

    Try to keep these terms and meanings in mind when you go through the next three sections: General Behaviour, Aggressive Behaviour, Sexual Behaviour and Reproduction. Begin to think about the whys I introduced, and come to your own conclusions. There are right and wrong answers, but it never hurts to make your own theories and explore.

    An expansion section on behaviour and other topics can be found in the section devoted to deconstructing penguin myths. There are some articles and observations there. Check them out when you're finished here.

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