Giant Prehistoric Penguin Found, Sported Splashes of Red
Black tie optional: Birds donned "tuxedoes" only recently, study suggests.
Along with at least two other giant prehistoric penguins, the fossil species was discovered in Peru in 2007 but announced only today. Lab researchers recently recovered wing feathers and smaller body feathers from the 5-foot-tall (150-centimeter-tall) penguin species—today's biggest living penguin species, the emperor, is just under 4 feet (120 centimeters) tall.
"We found that the leading edge of its wing was gray, and the underside of the wing was a reddish brown," said study leader Julia Clarke, a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
But the team doesn't have enough feathers from the water king penguin (Inkayacu paracasensis) to determine the colors of its entire body.
"We can't totally 'color in all the lines' on the penguin
