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200 Featured Specimen
Yellow-eyed penguin

Details

Yellow-eyed penguin

Megadyptes antipodes

Size
Wingspan 65–79 cm · 3–8.5 kg
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Pair
Lifespan
8-25 years

The yellow-eyed penguin is a coastal penguin of New Zealand and nearby subantarctic areas. Diurnal pairs feed at sea and breed relatively apart.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
Southern OceanAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasianAustralasian

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It uses cold coastal waters and shorelines with coastal forest, scrub, or cover. Visual screening around nest sites is important.

Appearance

Wingspan is about 65-79 cm and weight about 3-8.5 kg. Yellow eyes, a pale yellow head band, dark gray back, and white belly are distinctive.

Behavior

Active by day, it goes to sea alone or in pairs and dives for food. At breeding sites, pairs keep distance from neighbors and return to hidden nests.

Feeding

It is carnivorous, catching fish and squid. It swims with wing-like flippers and often forages near the seafloor in coastal water.

Reproduction

Pairs nest under vegetation or in sheltered sites and guard eggs and chicks. Chicks remain at the nest while adults forage at sea.

Notes

Its status is listed as Endangered. Coastal change, disease, disturbance, and shifts in marine food supply are major concerns.