Snares penguin

Snares penguin, (Eudyptes robustus), species of crested penguin (genus Eudyptes, order Sphenisciformes) characterized by plumes of yellow feathers that run above each eye (the superciliary stripe) and extend from the base of the bird’s cone-shaped bill to the back of the head. Compared with those of other species in the genus, the tips of these plumes are longer and droop off the back of the head. The species is named for the Snares Islands, the group of rocky islets it inhabits in the Southern Ocean near New Zealand. Although breeding populations are limited to the Snares Islands, migrating individuals have traveled as far as Australia and the Falkland Islands. Snares penguins are often confused with Fiordland penguins (E. pachyrhynchus) and erect-crested penguins (E. sclateri).

Physical features

Most adults stand 40 to 50 cm (about 15–20 inches) tall, and some individuals reach up to 60 cm (about 24 inches) in length. The average weight of the adult ranges from 3 to 4 kg (about 7 to 9 pounds), and males are slightly larger than females. Adult members of both sexes have a black head, throat, and back. They also possess a white underside and red eyes. The bill is separated from the black plumage on the face by a narrow strip of pink- or white-coloured skin. Juveniles are somewhat smaller than adults, possessing shorter, paler crests and a paler chin, whereas chicks are brown with a dull white underside.

Predators and prey

The diet of Snares penguins is not well documented, but ornithologists believe that it is mostly made up of krill; however, squid and fish are also eaten. They are relatively fast swimmers, reaching speeds of perhaps up to 24 km (15 miles) per hour in pursuit of their prey. At sea, adults are sometimes preyed upon by Hooker’s sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri). On land, however, eggs and chicks are more vulnerable, falling prey to skuas (Catharacta) and giant fulmars (Macronectes giganteus).

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Nesting and breeding

Between May and August, Snares penguins travel widely throughout their range to feed. In August, males return to the breeding grounds to excavate bowl-shaped nests into the ground, which are later lined with grasses and twigs. The nests are built beneath forests of tall shrublike tree daisies (Olearia lyallii and Brachyglottis stewartiae) or on rocky slopes. Because the penguins often nest in dense colonies of up to 1,500 breeding pairs, their excavation activities coupled with their droppings take a physical and chemical toll on the forest, and the colonies are forced to move to a new part of the forest each year.

Copulation occurs shortly after the arrival of females in early September. By late September and early October the female deposits two eggs in the nest: a smaller egg followed by a larger egg about five days later. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs in shifts lasting 10 days or more. For the first few weeks after hatching, the chicks are fed by their mother and guarded by their father. It is during this period that the chick hatching from the smaller egg typically dies, often succumbing to hypothermia brought on by frequent rain. About three weeks after the young have hatched, both parents forage in the ocean during the day, and surviving offspring join a “crèche” (group) with other members of the cohort for protection. The fledging period, in which the young are prepared for adulthood, concludes when the young are about 11 weeks old, and they leave the nest to live on their own. Snares penguins become sexually mature by age six, and they may live as long as 20–22 years.

Conservation status

In 2008 ecologists estimated that the Snares penguin population totaled 26,000 breeding pairs, with most of the birds living on North East Island, the largest island in the group. Compared with other species in the genus, the population is thought to be relatively stable. (It fluctuated between 23,000 and 30,000 breeding pairs between 1985 and 2008.) This relative stability has been attributed to the remoteness of the islands coupled with New Zealand’s strict rules regarding who can visit them. (Access to the islands is given only to scientific expeditions with special permits.) As a result, the Snares Islands are free from invasive mammals—such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and feral dogs and cats—that plague the habitats of several other penguin species. Since 1994, however, the species has been listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species because of its limited breeding range.