Behavioural observations of nest site selection in Adelie penguins at Cape Bird

Virtually all penguins return to their natal rookeries to breed, after spending a couple of years at sea. A majority of young birds of both sexes end up settling within 200 m of their natal nest after having wandered extensively through the rookery. The process by which penguins select nest sites was investigated. How the penguins find their way around the rookery and how much they experience other parts of the rookery was determined by following 30 marked adults of unknown age, from the moment they came ashore until they settled on a nest site, or later in the season, until they had returned to their established nest. 192 chicks were banded to start developing a group of birds with known ages. Colony watches to determine how often penguins make mistakes when they return to their home colony were conducted in one season only.