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To the trained eye, this 'penguin' is clearly a machine - but that hasn't stopped it fooling and infiltrating a large group of notoriously shy emperor penguins. 

Biologists are using the penguin rover to approach the group and learn more about their feeding habits, health, and interactions. 

And it is so convincing, penguins in the group were spotted talking to it, as if it was a potential mate for their chicks.

Scientists have created a remote control rover (pictured), disguised as an emperor penguin chick. The device was designed to snuggle up to shy penguins and track their health. The baby penguin robotic spy lets scientists check heart rate, stress levels and other penguin parameters

Emperor penguins are difficult to study because they are shy and easily intimidated. 

When researchers approach, these penguins typically back away and the stress of the encounter causes their heart rates to increase. 

To monitor the birds' health, without causing them unnecessary stress, a group of scientists and filmmakers, led by Yvon Le Maho from the University of Strasbourg in France, created the remote-controlled rover, disguised as a chick. 

The penguins themselves were fitted with heart-rate loggers.  

The experiment took place in Adelie Land, Antarctica - the same place where the 2005 documentary 'March of the Penguins' was filmed.

After sending the rover into the group, researchers watched from a distance of 650 feet (198 metres) away.

The first disguised version of the rover, made of fiberglass, scared the real birds, Professor Le Maho said.

In total, the researchers experimented with five more versions of the rover before finding a design that worked. 

The rover is covered in grey fur, has black arms and a black-and-white painted face, plus a black beak.

It is fitted with cameras and sensors that connect to the researchers' computers.  

The penguins didn't scamper away and even sang to it with 'a very special song like a trumpet,' Professor Le Maho said.

Professor Le Maho suggested that the adult penguins were trying to find a mate for their chicks and they were listening for a response, but researchers didn't program the rover to make a sound. 

The experiment took place in Adelie Land, Antarctica (marked) - the same place where the 2005 documentary 'March of the Penguins' was filmed. After sending the rover into the group, researchers watched from more than 650 feet (198 metres) away

The penguins didn't scamper away from the rover, and even sang to it with 'a very special song like a trumpet,' the researchers said. The study suggested that the adult penguins were trying to find a mate for their chicks and they were listening for a response, but researchers didn't program the rover to make a sound

Researcher Yvon Le Maho (pictured) tried five versions of robotic penguins during tests

'They were very disappointed when there was no answer,' he said. 

'Next time we will have a rover playing songs.'

At other times, the rover crowded in with a group of chicks, acting as 'a spy in the huddle,' Professor Le Maho continued. 

Researchers worry that just by coming close to some shy animals they change their behavior and can taint the results of their studies. 

A number of rovers are being used, and a similar model was seen in the BBC series Spy In The Huddle. 

Professor Le Maho also used a rover without any animal disguise to spy on king penguins and elephant seals, because those animals don't flee strangers. 

The king penguins attacked the small rover with their beaks, unless it stayed still, but even that allowed the device to get close enough to get readings.

The large elephant seals didn't budge when the rover zipped by and around them.

In the future, the researchers plan to use a more autonomous robot to spy on the emperor penguins. 

The idea is to use devices on the rover to read signals from radio tags on the birds.

The study is published in the journal Nature Methods.

Experts also used a rover without any disguise to spy on king penguins and elephant seals. The undisguised rover is shown approaching an incubating king penguin (top left), that has been fitted with a heart rate (HR) logger. Chart (b) shows the increase in heart rate when the rover, and the human, approaches the birds