# Penguin bird vs penguin **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084 "2026-08-01T16:48:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/1 "2026-08-01T16:48:33Z")
I’ve been playing an online word game and I’ve noticed they’ve used penguin bird as a clue on a few occasions. I haven’t seen this usage before. I’ve always seen them called penguins just like I’d say ostriches or chickens rather than ostrich birds or chicken birds. Is there some context where penguin birds is normal usage or is this just a quirk of this word game? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/2 "2026-08-01T17:03:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is there some context where penguin birds is normal usage or is this just a quirk of this word game? The only thing that comes to mind is to prevent confusion with the batman villain. They’re prominent enough in pop culture that it might make sense to distinguish you mean the bird and not THE Penguin. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/3 "2026-08-01T17:34:43Z")
Perhaps they mean the **[great auk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk)**? It’s a bird and the original penguin. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/4 "2026-08-01T17:45:48Z")
If you watch Clint’s Reptiles, just about any time he talks about birds\*, he will mention “false penguins” — that is, what most people think of as penguins, the aquatic birds that inhabit Antarctica (and other places). The great auk was the OG penguin, and the false ones were ID’d based on superficial resemblance. Genetic analysis show they are not closely related. \* Despite the channel name, he talks about all sorts of animals. Brian I think I got that right ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/5 "2026-08-01T17:52:57Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > he will mention “false penguins” — that is, what most people think of as penguins There is that. I was once on a whale-watching cruise where several tourists got excited about seeing a “penguin” swimming by. It was a [Common Murre](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/photo-gallery/302764311). I was considering (ever-so-politely) going all SDMB pedant on them, but one of the whale-watching docents beat me to it 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/6 "2026-08-01T18:11:34Z")
That is what I meant when I wrote “the original penguin”: what once were penguins are no more, they went extinct (well, they did not go extinct just like that - we killed them all). And what we call penguins today are not penguins, as they do not belong in the genus _Pinguinus_ (auks). Perhaps @Little_Nemo could elaborate what he means when he writes > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > used penguin bird as a clue on a few occasions. A clue for what? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/7 "2026-08-01T19:33:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Is there some context where penguin birds is normal usage or is this just a quirk of this word game? Not sure about penguins, but this reminds me of other redundant phrases, like the common phrase “tuna fish” when I was growing up, as in “tuna fish sandwich” or “tuna fish casserole.” I presume it dated from when people were less familiar with what “tuna” was. Even when people are familiar, you still hear redundant phrases like “puppy dog,” “kitty cat,” “safe haven,” “free gift,” “ATM machine,” “PIN number,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/8 "2026-08-02T02:20:42Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Perhaps @Little_Nemo could elaborate what he means when he writes > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > used penguin bird as a clue on a few occasions. > > A clue for what? The game is Bubble Out. It’s a lightweight game similar to Connections. You have a bunch of words and you have to group together the words that share a common theme. So you might have words like Emu, Ostrich, Owl, and Penguin Bird in the pile and you have to pick them out and group them together. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2026, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/9 "2026-08-02T05:48:43Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > \* Despite the channel name, he talks about all sorts of animals. Also, birds are reptiles. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/10 "2026-08-02T23:54:42Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I was considering (ever-so-politely) going all SDMB pedant on them, Might that have been considered “dopesplaining”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/11 "2026-08-03T00:30:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Also, birds are reptiles. A fact Clint will also make a big deal about. Zoology youtubers are always really big on their cladistics. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguin-bird-vs-penguin/1032084/12 "2026-08-03T01:47:51Z")
Most of the press accounts I could find of the term “penguin bird” predated 1930, at which time it’s possible that large parts of the US were not familiar with the critter. As early as the 1910s they were described as looking as though they wore tuxedos.