Yet this scene shows an extraordinary community at work - thousands of king penguins instinctively herding their recently born young into giant huddles to stop them freezing to death.
Birds of a feather... Thousands of penguins form striking pattern in this picture taken 2,000ft above South Georgia
Parental instinct takes over in the inhospitable climate of the South Atlantic and the furry brown chicks are made to crowd together to retain their body warmth in the equivalent of bird creches - visible as brown swathes on our photo.
The picture was taken 2,000ft above the shoreline of South Georgia, a British territory close to the Falklands, by a helicopter crew from the Royal Navy's ice patrol ship HMS Endurance.
Crazy chicks: A closer view reveals newborn king penguins being corralled by their elders
Modern art? The contrast between young and old penguins looks like an abstract
From the sky, it looks like a giant swirling frothy coffee.