Yellow-eyed Penguin
Megadyptes antipodes
A tall, stocky penguin endemic to New Zealand. Note the conspicuous soft, yellow uncrested band that stretches across the back of the head to circle each distinctly yellow eye. Juveniles have paler eyes, lack the yellow band, and are paler at the back of the head. Breeds on the southeast coastline of the South Island and on Stewart, Codfish, Campbell, and Auckland Islands. Feeds alone at sea, but can form small groups in the non-breeding season. Adults sedentary at colony sites. Juveniles sometimes encountered as stragglers, dispersing as far north as the Bay of Plenty.
Identification
The yellow-eyed penguin (M. a. antipodes) is most easily identified by the band of pale yellow feathers surrounding its eyes and encircling the back of its head. Its forehead, crown and the sides of its face are slate grey flecked with golden yellow. Its eye is yellow. The foreneck and sides of the head are light brown. The back and tail are slate blue-black. Its chest, stomach, thighs and the underside of its flippers are white in colour. Juvenile birds have a greyer head with no yellow band around their eyes.<p>It is the largest living penguin to breed on the mainland of New Zealand and the fourth or fifth heaviest living penguin going on body mass. It stands 62–79 centimetres (24–31 in) tall and weighs 3–8.5 kilograms (6.6–18.7 lb). Weight varies throughout the year, with penguins being heaviest just before moulting, during which they may lose 3-4 kilograms in weight. Males at around 5.53 kg (12.2 lb) on average are somewhat heavier than females at an average of 5.13 kg (11.3 lb).<p>The yellow-eyed penguin may be long lived, with some individuals reaching 20 years of age. Males are generally longer lived than females, leading to a sex ratio of 2:1 around the age of 10–12 years.<p>The yellow-eyed penguin is mostly silent. It makes a shrill bray-like call at nest and breeding sites.
Taxonomy
The yellow-eyed penguin was first described by Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot in 1841.<p>The yellow-eyed penguin is the sole species in the genus Megadyptes. It was previously thought closely related to the little penguin but new molecular research has shown it is more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests it split from the ancestors of Eudyptes around 15 million years ago. In 2019 the 1.25Gb genome of the species was published as part of the Penguin Genome Consortium, and this will help resolve the origins and aid conservation by helping to inform any future breeding programmes.
- Scientific name
- Megadyptes antipodes
- Authority
- (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)
- Order
- Sphenisciformes
- Family
- Spheniscidae
- Genus
- Megadyptes
Range and habitat
Until recently, it was assumed that M. a. antipodes was widespread and abundant before the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand. However, genetic analysis has since revealed that its range only expanded to include mainland New Zealand in the past 200 years. Yellow-eyed penguins expanded out of the subantarctic to replace New Zealand's endemic Waitaha penguin (M. waitaha). The Waitaha penguin became extinct between about 1300 and 1500, soon after Polynesian settlers arrived in New Zealand. Jeremy Austin, a member of the team that discovered the Waitaha penguin, said, "Our findings demonstrate that yellow-eyed penguins on mainland New Zealand are not a declining remnant of a previous abundant population, but came from the subantarctic relatively recently and replaced the extinct Waitaha penguin."<p>A dwarf subspecies from the Chatham Islands, M. a. richdalei, is extinct. The modern population of yellow-eyed penguins does not breed on the Chatham Islands.<p>Today, yellow-eyed penguins are found in two distinct populations. The northern population extends along the southeast coast of the South Island of New Zealand, down to Stewart Island and Codfish Island. It includes four main breeding areas in Banks Peninsula, North Otago, Otago Peninsula and the Catlins. It is also referred to as the mainland population. The southern population includes the subantarctic Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. There is little gene flow between the northern and southern populations as the large stretch of ocean between the South Island and subantarctic region and the subtropical convergence act as a natural barrier. Based on monitoring between 2012-2017, there are on average 577 breeding pairs per year on Enderby Island in the Auckland Islands, which comprise 37-49% of the total breeding population for the species.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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