SYDNEY, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Aussie lovebirds celebrated China's most romantic day, the Qixi Festival or the Chinese Valentine's Day, alongside nature's kings of courtship - gentoo and king penguins, at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, a public aquarium located in the city of Sydney, Australia.
Visitors to the Aquarium could capture the perfect love snap at a custom-made photo booth on Wednesday, to celebrate the Qixi Festival and the beginning of penguin breeding season.
Famous for winning the hearts of their mates, male gentoo penguins go to great lengths to find the most beautiful and smooth stone to present their partner, and the birds at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium are no exception.
"The gentoo penguins are nesting birds so they make nests, and here we put out little platforms and then tree rings then we scatter little pebbles all throughout the exhibit and the gentoo penguins will pick up the pebbles and build their nests by putting the pebbles inside the tree rings," penguin keeper at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium Amy Lawrie said.
But the males had better bring their best, because females can be picky when it comes to choosing the right one.
"We do see here sometimes even if they are paired up, the male will bring a pebble over to the nest and the female actually look at it and kick it out of the nest if she doesn't like it," Lawrie said.
Keepers at the aquarium are hoping for a successful breeding season, which means there might be a few more penguins sliding onto the ice very soon.
"In the next few weeks, we will be putting the nests out for our gentoos and they will start their breeding season - so hopefully in October or November we will see some chicks hatched in our exhibit," Lawrie said.
