"Do penguins have ears?"

This question has been echoing in my head since last week when I was loosely part of a presentation to 1st and 2nd graders about life (and/or lack thereof) in the Antarctic. Other questions included, “Are all penguin eggs white?” and “How long does it take to get to Antarctica from New Jersey?”

I don’t know why the ear question has stuck with me. I think I just like it linguistically. It seems like a great title for a book. (Or a blog post.) Or maybe it’s just the notion of an adorable little tiny penguin ear that appeals to me.

Penguins are so vogue now, and their rise to popularity seems to have coincided with someone close to me taking a six-month job in Antarctica (hence the presentation noted above), which I find so funny. Before his trip, I will confess that when someone said, “penguin” to me, I had no idea there was more than one kind. I simply thought a penguin was a type of bird, like a robin or a blue jay. Are there multiple kinds of robins and blue jays too? How ornithologically challenged am I?

Just in case you are curious: yes, penguins have ears; I don’t know if all their eggs are white; and it takes about 20 – 30 hours of flying depending on layovers.

And here's a picture I took in New Zealand of some elusive yellow-eyed penguins scampering along a cliffside.