“Pesto currently looks like he is wearing a brown feather boa over a white tuxedo shirt.” Eventually, he will look like other adult King penguins. Adult King penguins typically have an orange ...

Pigment in the feather suggests it would have been medium- or dark-brown in color. An isolated barb from a white belly feather of a modern grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis), illustrating coiled ...

Growing these new feathers will allow Pesto to eventually swim. While king penguin chicks' brown feathers are insulating, they are not waterproof, which is where their adult plumage comes in handy.