PENGUIN, the name originally given to the garefowl (q.v.), but now applied to the flightless sea-birds forming the family Sphenicidae. The wings lack quills and are incapable of flexure, though they move freely at the shoulder-joint. In the water the birds use them as paddles, and on land they are employed for fighting and, in some species, in walking. The plumage consists of small scale-like feathers and the three metatarsals are imperfectly united. Penguins feed on fish and crustacea; they have few ene mies, the leopard-seal or sea-leopard (q.v.) and McCormick's skua (Megalestris maccormickii) being perhaps the worst, though man is even more serious as a foe when he has easy access to a "rookery." The penguins belong to the southern hemisphere, none extending farther north than the Galapagos islands, while the majority do not reach the tropics. They breed in immense "rook eries," often in the most desolate parts of Antarctica. Two white eggs (one in the case of the Emperor penguin) are laid in a rough nest on the ground and the young penguin is at first clad in down. The young are helpless, needing care for an unusually long time.
The largest forms are the Emperor (Ap tenodytes fosteri) and King (A. longiros tris) penguins. The former breeds in the height of the Antarctic winter in order that the young may be fully fledged before the next winter. The brooding instinct is so strong that birds may brood lumps of ice.
The young birds are in many species cared for communally and not only by their par ents. Many penguins progress on ice either by walking upright or flat on their bellies, kicking with their legs. The little Adelie penguin (Pygosceles adeliae) may breed several miles from the sea; it may continue to brood though completely covered with snow. It is very playful, and takes "joy rides" on pieces of floating ice. The birds have interesting mutual courtship and greeting ceremonies. The genus Endyptes comprises the "Rock-hoppers." About 14 species altogether are known. For an ac count of this peculiar group See Levick's Antarctic Penguins. PENINGTON, ISAAC (1616-1679), eldest son of Sir Isaac Penington was one of the most notable of the 17th century Quakers. In 1661 Penington was imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of allegiance, and on several subsequent occasions he passed long periods in Reading and Aylesbury gaols. He died on Oct. 8, 1679. Edward Penington (1667-1711), son of Isaac Penington, emigrated to Pennsylvania, where he founded a family. Isaac Penington's stepdaughter, Gulielma Springett, married Wil liam Penn.
See Maria Webb, The Penns and Peningtons of the 17th Century (1867) ; Willem Sewel, History of the Quakers (6th ed., 2 vols., London, 1834) •