Michael Porter,, age 110 of Lancaster,CA for his question:

Is the penguin a fowl or an animal?

Andy can well understand your being confused about whether the penguin is an animal or a fowl. In fact.. he says, if you saw the dapper fellow up to some of his agile tricks you might even wonder if he weren't a bit related to the fishes. And if you saw him standing erect lined up with his friends and relatives along the rocky shores:: you might mistake him for part of a reception committee there to greet the sailors brave enough to visit his cold and stormy Antarctic home

Actually Mr. Penguin is a bird   though a very unusual bird. But since birds belong to the animal kingdoms he can also be classed as an animal. As a bird he is unlike all other birds. For the 22 different kinds of penguin have a family all to themselves.

All the penguins are natives of the coasts and shores which lie in the Arctic Ocean.  The Blue Penguin of Australia is the smallest of the cousins being no taller than 16 inches.. The Emperor Penguin is the giant of the family   he can stand as high as four feet and weigh up to 80 pounds.,

No penguin could be mistaken for any other bird. All of them wear  well laundered white shirt fronts and shiny dark coats. Their feathers feel rather like fur aid cover the skin so closely that no bare spaces occur: as between the feathers of most birds„ On land they stand very erects their four toed, webbed feet sticking out in front.   It is possible for a penguin to run, but in the main they are not too agile on the ground. Walking in single file they look for all the world like  very elegant  gentlemen on their way to a formal dinner party.

In the water, the penguin is agile and graceful as a fish. He uses his firm flippers as oars and paddles moving first one and then the other. Most of his swimming is done  under water there he hunts for fish and mollusks   the only food he eats.

Mrs. Penguin nurses her one or two white or greenish eggs along the rocks or in hollows in the ground. The parents are  great to provide food and tender care  to the helpless babies. And penguins as a family are such friendly fellows that it’s not unusual for one baby to be tended by no less than ten foster parents.