While many king penguins and other penguins can have feather coloring mutations, usually the variations are partial. Doc. Allan Becker and ornithologist and head of the Department of National History of the Royal Ontario Museum called the discovery of all black king penguin astonishing. He jokingly said it's one in a zillion kind of mutation and scientifically calls it very rare. He explains that typically melanistic birds will have white spots where melanin pigmentation has failed to color the feathers, but it's extremely rare for there to be melanin deposits over the entire breast of the bird. Photographer Evan says he almost did get the citing recorded as he got his camera positioned, the penguins started walking away.