• 13 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Penguin

An emperor penguin standing, seen from the side, with every part to name.

Parts of a Penguin

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Beak (bill)
  2. Eye
  3. Head
  4. Flipper
  5. Back
  6. Belly
  7. Tail
  8. Feet
  9. Breast
  10. Throat
  11. Ear patch
  12. Claws
  13. Brood patch

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a bird that flies

All 13 parts on the diagram

Show the list
  1. Beak (bill) A long, slim beak for catching fish, squid and krill.
  2. Eye A penguin finds its food by sight, under water.
  3. Head The top of the body, with the eyes and the beak.
  4. Flipper A stiff, flat wing. A penguin cannot fly; it swims with its flippers.
  5. Back The side that faces up when the bird swims. On the living bird it is black, which hides it from above.
  6. Belly The big rounded front. On the living bird it is white, which hides it from below.
  7. Tail A short wedge of stiff feathers. A resting emperor leans back on its tail and its heels.
  8. Feet Webbed feet that help steer under water. On the ice an emperor carries its egg on top of them.
  9. Breast The upper front of the body. On an emperor it is pale yellow at the top.
  10. Throat The front of the neck, just under the beak.
  11. Ear patch A patch of bright yellow feathers on each side of the head.
  12. Claws Strong claws at the toe tips, for gripping ice and snow.
  13. Brood patch A patch of bare skin that keeps the egg warm. The egg rests on the feet, tucked against it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition, Penguin and Emperor penguin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_penguin (flippers for swimming, bill, eyes adapted for underwater vision, black back and white belly as camouflage, tail, head, throat, pale-yellow breast, bright-yellow ear patches, the brood patch as a patch of skin without feathers, the egg on the feet). (2) Australian Antarctic Program, Penguins and Emperor penguin, https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/penguins/ and https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/penguins/emperor-penguin/ (flippers to swim, feet and tail as a rudder, a waterproof coat of short overlapping feathers, a layer of fat, small bills and flippers, strong claws for gripping the ice, webbing on the feet). (3) Cool Antarctica, Emperor penguins and How penguins survive the cold, https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/Emperor-penguins.php (flippers, the short stiff tail used as a tripod with the heels, powerful claws on the feet, yellow ear patches fading into the breast feathers, the brood patch). (4) University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web, Aptenodytes forsteri, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aptenodytes_forsteri/ (back, head, chin and throat; ear patches; chest and breast; beak; flippers; standing on the two heels and the tail). (5) Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds, Bird ID Skills: Field Marks, read in the Internet Archive copy because the live page refuses scripts, https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/bird-id-skills-field-marks/ (the main regions of any bird: beak or bill, head, back, throat, breast, wings, tail and legs; the eye). (6) National Geographic, Emperor penguin, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/emperor-penguin (belly, brood pouch). Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a penguin are a head with a long beak, a stout body with a back and a belly, two flippers, a short tail and two webbed feet. Label the penguin here: it is an emperor, the largest kind.

Read the full guide

Eight big parts, then five small ones

Numbers 1 to 8 are the parts you can see from across the ice: the beak, the eye, the head, a flipper, the back, the belly, the tail and the feet. Numbers 9 to 13 are smaller: the breast, the throat, the ear patch behind the eye, the claws on the toes and the brood patch low on the belly, where an egg is kept warm.

  • A penguin's wing is called a flipper. It is stiff and flat, made for swimming and not for flying.
  • Back and belly are easy to mix up on a side view: the belly is the side the beak points toward.

Questions and answers

What are the body parts of a penguin?

A head with a beak and two eyes, a throat, a breast and a belly down the front, a back, two flippers, a short stiff tail, and two webbed feet with claws. An emperor also has a yellow ear patch on each side.

Do penguins have wings?

Yes, but they cannot fly with them. A penguin's wings are stiff and flat and are called flippers. The bird beats them under water to swim, and steers with its feet and tail.

How do penguins stay warm?

With feathers and fat. A penguin has a waterproof coat of short, overlapping feathers and a layer of fat under the skin. Emperor penguins also huddle together in the cold.

What is a brood patch?

A patch of bare skin low on the belly. An emperor penguin rests its egg on top of its feet and tucks it against the brood patch, under a fold of feathered skin, to keep it warm.

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