The most timid of the crested penguins, the Fiordland crested penguin, or simply Fiordland
Penguin, endemic to New Zealand, only has a world population of around 3,000 breeding
pairs.
Also known as the New Zealand crested penguin, tawaki, pokotiwha, New Zealand penguin, thick-billed
penguin, and Victoria penguin, Little is known about the marine ecology this beautiful bird.
Hi, welcome to Animal Facts, today we try to uncover some tasty nuggets of information
about this bashful bird.
Let's get started.
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10.
One of the smaller members of the penguin family, the Fiordland crested penguin has
a black head, throat and back, a white front and underside, a thick stubby orange bill
and pink feet.
The most distinguishing features are the yellow sulphur-coloured crests above the eyes that
extend from the bill to just behind the head.
Both sexes are similar, whereas young birds have paler cheeks and shorter crests.
9.
After spending much of the year alone in the open ocean, males arrive at the chosen breeding
site ahead of the females during late June or July.
Two weeks later the females arrive and mating takes place.
The birds are monogamous and prefer their nest sites to be hidden from one another.
Two pale-green eggs are laid in a cavity between tree roots, stones or small burrows in the
coastal forest, and incubation takes from four to six weeks.
The birds do not attempt to collect nest materials.
Although it is usual for just one egg to hatch successfully, occasionally both chicks emerge.
However, the parents rarely catch enough food for two offspring and the smaller chick usually
dies.
8.
The survivinng chick is looked after by the male and fed by the female for the first few
weeks, then the parents take it in turns to hunt.
Sometimes the chicks join a creche with other youngsters, but they always return to their
nest to be fed.
By the time the chicks reach 10 weeks old they have their adult plumage and they are
ready to go to sea.
7.
They communicate by emitting barking calls when out at sea and by visual and vocal displays
while on land.
6.
Fiordland Penguins are members of the crested penguin group which also includes the Royal
Penguin, Macaroni Penguin, Snares Penguin, Erect-Crested Penguin, and the Rockhopper
Penguin.
All are black and white penguins with yellow crests, red bills and eyes, and are found
on Subantarctic islands in the world's southern oceans.
All lay two eggs, but raise only one young per breeding season; the first egg laid is
substantially smaller than the second.
5.
Fiordland Penguins are very timid, usually active on land during the night, and are hardly
ever seen during the day.
4.
Fiordland crested penguins occasionally grow barnacles on their tails - an indication that
they may be at sea for long periods of time.
3.
Chicks eventually leave for sea at an age of about 75 days, usually in late November.
The departure of the chicks is gradual and they do not appear to be accompanied by other
chicks or adults.
Fiordland Penguins usually only start to breed at an age of 4 years.
Fledged chicks are recognizable by their greyish-blue plumage.
2.
Fiordland Penguins may show aggression towards each other in a number of ways.
The most severe fights occur prior to breeding and appear to be mostly initiated by late-arriving
females expelling new partners of their previous mate or by single males trying to displace
a breeding male from its partner.
1.
The main threat to Fiordland Crested Penguins is predation by land-based predators which
were brought to New Zealand by European settlers.
Further, the Weka (a large flightless bird) may steal eggs, yet its numbers are also dwindling.
Chicks are highly susceptible to predation by stoats, ferrets and rats but also by domestic
animals such as cats and dogs.
Well, there ya have it, 10 fearless facts about the timid Fiordland Penguin.
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And as always, catch ya next time.
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