Gentoos (Pygoscelis papua) have a distinctive white “bonnet” that curves across the head from eye to eye. Reddish-orange bills and pinkish-orange feet accent their dapper tuxedolike plumage. Found in the Antarctic and its far-flung islands, gentoos are the third largest penguin species, standing 2 feet tall and weighing 10 to 15 pounds. They typically breed in large, noisy colonies farther inland and build tight, circular nests out of rocks, grass, sticks and other materials. Gentoos usually keep the same partner from year to year, but not the same nest.

Female gentoos typically lay two eggs. As one parent broods, the other forages for food, switching roles so both can share in parenting. What would you do if your mom spit her veggies back up for you to eat for dinner? Yuck! Young gentoos, however, relish regurgitated small fishes, shrimp and squid—until they grow waterproof feathers and can venture out on their own for krill and bigger fishes.

Among the smallest of penguins at roughly 15 inches high and 5 pounds, rockhoppers (Eudyptes crestatus) are the eccentric ones. Their eyes glow red. Eyebrows as bright as egg yolks swoosh upward into long yellow plumes. And they are the only penguins that enter the water feet first, then burst back out and grab onto any perch they can with their beak, flippers, or feet. Try that from a swimming pool! Then again, stick to the ladders.

Rockhoppers, which live in the South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, are named for their unusual means of self-propulsion. The steep, rocky terrain on which they breed makes it necessary to hop from one point to the next. Unlike gentoos, rockhoppers refurbish the same nest every year. They will fiercely defend their territory and young despite their small size, but are gentle toward their mates, preening one another to keep their feathers waterproofed.