Chinstrap penguin
Pygoscelis antarcticus (J. R. Forster, 1781)
The chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus), also called the Ringed penguin, is a bird in the penguin family Spheniscidae, order Sphenisciformes. It is a medium-sized bird with a representative adult body mass of 4.1 kg, with reported values from 3.9 to 4.4 kg.
Quick facts about the chinstrap penguin
A marine, aquatic carnivore, it is classed as an aquatic predator and is partially migratory, with a geographic range of 12,590 km². It lays 2 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, incubates them for 35 days, reaches sexual maturity at 3.5 years and is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 3.88 kg – 4.44 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.48 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the chinstrap penguin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the chinstrap penguin live?
Not recorded
What is the chinstrap penguin?
The chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) is a penguin species that inhabits various islands and shores in the Southern Pacific and the Antarctic Oceans. Its name stems from the narrow black band under its head, which makes it appear to wear a black helmet. Other common names include ringed penguin, bearded penguin, and stonecracker penguin. It is known for its loud, harsh call.
From the Wikipedia article “Chinstrap penguin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinstrap_penguin&oldid=1379792075), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the chinstrap penguin endangered?
The chinstrap penguin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the chinstrap penguin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderSphenisciformes
- familySpheniscidae
- genusPygoscelis
- SpeciesPygoscelis antarcticus (J. R. Forster, 1781)
Synonyms Aptenodytes antarctica, Pygoscelis antarctica
Other names and names in other languages (43)
- Ringed penguinEnglish
- BandkeelpikkewynAfrikaans
- بطريق شريطي الذقنArabic
- pingüín antárticuAsturian
- Антарктически пингвинBulgarian
- pingüí de cara blancaCatalan
- tučňák uzdičkovýCzech
- RempingvinDanish
- ZügelpinguinGerman
- KehlstreifpinguinGerman
- strigorĝa pingvenoEsperanto
- Pingüino barbijoSpanish
- Pingüino de barbijoSpanish
- valjaspingviinEstonian
- myssypingviiniFinnish
- Manchot à jugulaireFrench
- פנגווין רצועת הסנטרHebrew
- állszíjas pingvinHungarian
- Penguin Tali DaguIndonesian
- Pinguino dal collareItalian
- Pigoscelide antarticoItalian
- ヒゲペンギンJapanese
- 턱끈펭귄Korean
- ZigelpinguinLuxembourgish
- antarktinis pingvinasLithuanian
- KinbandpinguïnDutch
- stormbandpinguinDutch
- StormbandpinguïnDutch
- ringpingvinNorwegian
- pingwin maskowyPolish
- pinguim-de-barbichaPortuguese
- Антарктический пингвинRussian
- tučniak čiapočkatýSlovak
- Огрличасти пингвинSerbian
- Ogrličasti pingvinSerbian
- hakremspingvinSwedish
- Антарктика пингвиныTatar
- เพนกวินชินแทร็ปThai
- Çember Sakallı PenguenTurkish
- Антарктичний пінгвінUkrainian
- пінгвін антарктичнийUkrainian
- 南極企鵝Chinese
- 纹颊企鹅Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the chinstrap penguin
Other species in the same genus Pygoscelis.
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CompareChinstrap penguin vs Adélie penguinChinstrap penguin vs Gentoo penguinChinstrap penguin vs Pygoscelis tyreeiChinstrap penguin vs Pygoscelis calderensis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the chinstrap penguin?
The chinstrap penguin is a bird, a penguin in the family Spheniscidae. It is also called the Ringed penguin.
How heavy is a chinstrap penguin?
An adult Chinstrap penguin weighs 4.1 kg as a representative value, with reported values from 3.9 to 4.4 kg.
What does the chinstrap penguin eat?
The chinstrap penguin is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.
Is the chinstrap penguin endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the chinstrap penguin lay?
The chinstrap penguin lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 35 days.
Does the chinstrap penguin migrate?
Yes, the chinstrap penguin is partially migratory.
Who named the chinstrap penguin?
The scientific name Pygoscelis antarcticus is attributed to (J. R. Forster, 1781).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinstrap-penguin
“Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinstrap-penguin.
@misc{chinstrap_penguin_2026,
title = {Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinstrap-penguin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}