Erect-crested penguin

Description

The erect-crested penguin is a black-and-white bird with a bright yellow stripe above each eye that sticks up as a short crest. It stands 50 to 70 centimeters tall and weighs between 2.5 and 6 kilograms. Males are a bit bigger than females and have a larger bill, as is typical for crested penguins. Its upper body ranges from bluish-black to jet black, with white underparts.

Averaging 6.38 kilograms for males and 5.4 kilograms for females, it is the largest crested penguin species and the fourth heaviest living penguin, nearly matching the gentoo penguin in weight. Very little is known about its biology; the only recent research, done on the Antipodes Islands, looked at mate choice.

Study is difficult due to logistical challenges and strict permits from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. It likely eats small fish, krill, and squid, like other crested penguins. Its scientific name honors British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater.

Distribution

The Erect-crested penguin nests on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. Smaller groups were once recorded on Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands, and a single breeding pair was seen on New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula in the 1940s. These birds spend long stretches at sea before molting, from February to March, and throughout winter from March to August. They have been spotted as far off as the Falkland Islands and occasionally turn up in Argentina, Antarctica, and Australia.

Their colonies are large and built on rocky ground. On the Antipodes Islands, they nest alone or alongside Southern Rockhopper penguins; on the Bounty Islands, they share space with Salvin’s albatross. Breeding runs from September to late January, with two eggs per clutch. The first egg is 25 to 70 percent smaller than the second, and the larger egg gets more attention and priority during incubation.

Status

Since the 1940s, the erect-crested penguin has seen a steep drop in numbers. A late 1970s count on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands estimated 230,000 breeding pairs, but that figure's reliability is now doubted.

Strong evidence points to major population losses during the latter half of the 1900s, though the decline appears to have eased more recently. Today, roughly 150,000 mature individuals remain. The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List and is also protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.