This is bird note. When most of us think of penguins, we picture snow and ice, right?

But the Humboldt penguin that lives along the Pacific coast of Chile and Peru is

well adapted to the extremes of both heat and cold. Humboldt penguins are

disappearing from the wild and their taped sounds are incredibly rare. We made

these recordings at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Like other penguins,

they have dense layers of fat and feathers to insulate them against the cold

seas. But when on land, where temperatures can rise to over 100 degrees,

the penguins need a way to cool down. Humboldt penguins have pink patches of

bare skin on their face, under their wings and on their feet. These patches

help keep them from overheating. On a really hot day, the patches turn a deep,

rosy color. The penguins look like they're blushing. In those areas of bare skin,

blood vessels dilate as extra blood rushes to the skin's surface.

More warm blood at the surface helps dissipate heat from the penguin's body.

But scientists use the term blushing only when describing human reactions, like embarrassment.

So science tells us that a Humboldt penguin's face is flushing, not blushing.

For BirdNote, I'm Mary McCann. BirdNote's newsletter delivers the wonder and joy of birds

directly to your inbox. Sign up at birdnote.org to get a weekly preview of our shows,

stories, photos, and more.