Regal Guingrebe

Guingrebes are freshwater pretenguins that have evolved in the early hothouse, their ancestors remaining inland even as the oceans stabilized and recovered after their collapse at the end of the ice age. They are omnivorous, but eat mainly fish and arthropods, and they have their hind legs situated far back on their bodies to facillitate spending most of their lives in water, but remain capable of standing and walking with an upright posture with longer legs than any true penguin. All species are monogamous and don't make nests, instead incubating a single egg held with their wings against a plucked patch on their chests, usually while laying on a sand bar or semi-protected island shore away from land predators. Male and female take turns incubating the egg, and if either is disturbed will push off into the water with it still in their wings; their strong hind legs are well-webbed and able to propel it in the water even with its wings full as it seeks a safer resting place. The egg is tolerant of short-term immersion in water up to ten minutes as long as it dries again shortly after, and if no suitable resting spot is available the parent may simply roll onto its back and cradle the egg on top of it to keep it warm and dry without any land at all. When the young hatches it is also held this way, cradled by one parent and fed morsels of food by the other, until it can dive for itself. 

The largest guingrebes live in the biggest freshwater lake, the polar basin, and here the regal guingrebe grows to lengths of up to five feet including its neck, and weighs up to 60 lbs. It is nonetheless only a summer visitor, coming here to breed and returning south along the many rivers to winter in the lakes of the northern soglands. Both sexes are colorful in a subtle way, their black plumage shining with purple iridescence in direct light, and males have in addition a bright orange throat. Both male and female have two fan-like, white crests that can be raised or lowered from above their eyes. Courtship is an elegant affair with synchronized posturing and raising and lowering of these crests, coupled with loud trumpeting calls similar to those of cranes. These songs are established in the first mating season and are a unique sequence of notes to each pair that both memorize for life, and are used to affirm their enduring pair bond.

The royal guingrebe is a loyal mate and an excellent parent, protecting their young for a full year, well after they are fully grown, and guiding them south along migration routes in the autumn. Multiple pairs very frequently breed together in colonies for additional predator deterrence, and while each couple is expected to be responsible for their own chicks most of the time, all of the adults will band together to protect any of them if an aerial predator threatens by striking it with their wings and bills while the chicks dive underwater, and allowing any chick to seek shelter from aquatic enemies by jumping onto any adult's back for safety. If a chick is orphaned, it may be adopted if it can slip into a group of adults with other chicks of a similar age. Though guingrebes do recognize their own offspring, they will share resources with an unrelated chick if there is enough to go around, as each chick's survival, including that of their own, is increased in a larger group. This may not be entirely altruistic; the unrelated chick will not likely stick as close to the foster parents as their own chicks, and may be more likely to be eaten by other animals, keeping their offspring off the menu.