Group of chicks and adults

I don't think anyone knows why emperor penguin chicks have the markings of grey, black and white that they have on their heads. Other penguin chicks are a uniform grey (or  brown in the case of king penguins), maybe it's to break up the endless vistas of white and shades of blue in the Antarctic.

This picture by Jérôme Maison. © 2005 Bonne Pioche Productions / Alliance De Production Cinématographique.
From the Warner Brothers film The March of the Penguins used here by permission of Warner Brothers.