The cost of keeping up a king penguin's plumage

The cost of keeping up a king penguin's plumage Famous for not flying, penguins also have feathers that are different from those of other birds.They use their short, stiff feathers for insulation, and to keep their skin dry and their bodies streamlined as they swim.Penguins also shed their entire plumage once per year and replace all their feathers in about a month in a process called moultingall while not eating.This is costly, causing them to lose most of their insulating fat and shrinking their swimming muscles in order to build their new feathers, which are made of proteins.This is a real problem for adolescent penguins, which struggle to add back the fat and muscle when they forage for food after moulting.However, adults have more experience finding food.