King penguins in snow, South Georgia Island. I found myself intrigued by the pattern their outline made in this expanse of snow as it appeared through the telephoto lens.

King penguins constantly prune feathers. Like all birds, they molt - and in the Antarctic, the energy requirements are substantial. Adult king penguins annually fast ashore for 1 month for molting. By the end of molt, they have lost 44% of their prefasting body mass. About 18% of new feather synthesis occurs at sea, thus reducing both nutrient requirement and fasting duration. Credit for research, and for further information: "Energy and protein requirements for molt in the king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus." Cherel Y, Charrassin JB, Challet E.