From Opus

Photo by Kevin Bates (aka penguins)
Location: Snares Island, New Zealand.

Alternative Name: Snares Crested Penguin

Eudyptes robustus

[edit] Identification

Blue-black above, white below. Head black with broad yellow crest beginning above bill-base and extending over the eye to become flared at the rear. Bill red-brown with fleshy pink margin at base, feet pinkish with black soles. Differs from Fiordland Crested Penguin in generally darker plumage on head, brighter and bushier crest, fleshy margin to bill-base and lack of white streaks on cheek.

Length 56-73cm.

[edit] Distribution

Breeds only on the Snares Islands, south-east of Stewart Island, New Zealand. Outside breeding season range is little-known but recorded on the Antipodes Islands, on the New Zealand coast north to the Banks Peninsula, the Macquarie Islands, Tasmania and southern Australia.

[edit] Taxonomy

This species is monotypic.^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Breeds in densely-packed colonies in clearings in the dense scrub of the Snares and reached via small creeks. Nests on bare rock on the nearby Western Reef. Present at colonies from August until April.

[edit] Behaviour

• Diet: Crustaceans, small fish and squid.
• Voice: A staccato bark and various whistling and grunting calls.
• Breeding: Colonial breeder, eggs: two, greenish-white, laid in September, young fledged by end of January.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

• List of references

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID