Royal Penguin
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| Royal Penguin Conservation status: Vulnerable | ||||||||||||||
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| Eudyptes schlegeli Finsch, 1876 |
The Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) inhabits the waters surrounding Antarctica. Royals look very much like Macaroni Penguins, but have a black face instead of the Macaronis' white visage. They stand up to 70 cm tall and weigh between 4 and 5 kg. Royal penguins breed only on Macquarie Island and, like other penguins, spend much of their time at sea, where they are assumed to be pelagic.
There is some controversy over whether Royal penguins are a sub-species of Macaroni penguins. Individuals of the two groups have been known to interbreed, though this is a relatively rare occurrence. Indeed, other penguins have been known to form mixed-species pairs in the wild.
Royal Penguins nest on beaches or on slopes covered with tussock grass. Like most seabirds they are colonial, nesting in scrapes on the ground up to a mile inland. The breeding season begins in September with laying starting in October. Two eggs are incubated for 35 days, with each incubation stint lasting up to two weeks. After brooding the chick for three weeks, both parents forage at sea while the chicks form large creches. The chicks fledge after two months. Young adults usually return to the colony to breed after six years.
Royal Penguins are not considered threatened; historically they were harvested for their oil, between 1870 and 1918 the government of New Zealand issuing licences for hunting them, with an average 150,000 penguins (both Royal and King) being taken each year. Since the end of penguin exploitation on Macquarie the numbers have climbed up to 850,000 pairs.
References
- del Hoyo,J., Elliot, A., Sargatal, J., eds (1992) Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume One Ostritch to Ducks, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
External link
- Australian Antarctic Division: Unusual Penguins (http://www.antdiv.gov.au/default.asp?casid=2404) Contains picture of mixed species pairs and hybrid individual penguins.de:Haubenpinguin