PENGUIN lovers joined a wildlife attraction in celebrating a worldwide day devoted to the flightless birds.

Birdland in Bourton, which has the UK's only breeding colony of king penguins, hosted a number of talks and feeding displays for World Penguin Day on Tuesday.

As well as the only breeding group of king penguins in the country, Birdland is also home to a group of smaller Humboldt penguins.

Humboldt penguins are classified as vulnerable in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Head keeper Alistair Keen said: “At Birdland we are part of the EEP, European Endangered Species Programmes, and I sit on the King Penguin Committee. We are committed to increasing the numbers and health of the endangered avian species.

"World Penguin Day was a great opportunity for us to showcase what amazing creatures king penguins and Humboldts are.

"Visitors learnt interesting and little-known facts about the colony at Penguin Shore and get inspired to help protect these amazing birds."

Visitors also found out more about the oldest pair of king penguins at Birdland,Seth, 32, and Missy, 40, who have paired up every year for the past few seasons and court each other throughout the summer.

There was also the opportunity to meet Spike the penguin, who has more than 8,000 Facebook fans and is a regular tweeter about his life in the Cotswolds, and his half-sister Charlotte.