Facts about Fiordland Penguins

 Fiordland Penguin by Thomas Mattern

The Fiordland penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), sometimes known as the 'Thick-billed penguin' or the 'Fiordland Crested penguin' is a shy and reclusive bird and of all of the penguin species perhaps the most timid. It is only found around the southern and southwestern coasts of New Zealand, and on Solander Island and Stewart Island. The total population is estimated to be about 2,500 pairs.

They are known to migrate into the Tasman Sea and spend most of the time in the water until the breeding season starts. During the breeding season they have a liking for rugged fjords and bays lined with rainforests where they have plenty of cover to hide in during the day. On land they prefer to be active in the dark hours and are rarely seen in the daytime.

Description

Fiordland penguins are one of the group of crested penguins (Eudyptes) which includes Rockhoppers, Royal, Macaroni, Chatham Islands, Snares, and Erect-crested penguins. Their crests begin as a strip of yellow feathers that begins from the root of their beaks running over their eyes to the back of the head where it becomes like bushy, spiky eyebrows.

They have a reddish beak and their faces are blue-black and often have 3 to 6 white strips. Their heads and backs are also blue-black. Their fronts are white and they have white webbed feet with black claws.

Fiordland penguins look very similar to Snares penguins. Snares penguins have pink patches of skin behind the beak which is absent from the Fiordland.
Being around 17 inches tall and weighing about 8 pounds it is bigger than the Little Blue penguin though smaller than the Emperor and King penguins.

Hunting and Diet

There is little that is known about its diet though it is thought to be similar to other species of penguin consisting of fish, krill and squid though it is thought to vary with geographical location and possibly time of year.

Breeding and Nesting

Fiordland breeding colonies are not as congested as other species of penguin. Instead they are loose and spread out with nests built under bushes, tree roots or rocky crevices and hollows out of sight of other nesting pairs though still part of the community.

Males usually reappear in June at the previous seasons breeding site before the females in June, which is their mid-winter. Females arrive soon after and lay two eggs in July. Male and female will take turns to incubate the egg while the other hunts at sea. The incubation shifts can last for between 5 to 12 days. The eggs usually hatch in 30 to 36 days.

As with other penguin species the first egg usually does not hatch for unknown reasons though the second usually does. Occasionally the first egg will hatch but the chick is usually smaller than the other chick and cannot compete for food and dies.

The chick is guarded by the male while the female hunts and feeds it for the first two to three weeks. Thereafter both parents take turns to hunt and feed the chick. The chick may be left alone and form nursery groups with others for warmth and protection, though they tend to return to the nest to be fed.
In November when they are around 10 weeks old the chicks fledge. Their downs of grey are replaced with adult feathers. They are now old enough to hunt in the sea and support themselves. When they turn five years old they will then return to their home colonies to breed.

Predators and Threats

Chicks fall victim to introduced species of animals such as cats, ferrets, dogs and stoats on land. In the water fur seals are their main predator.
Fiordlands are sensitive to human activity and easily disturbed. Their populations seem to be in decline but there is little reliable information available due to the remoteness and difficulty of access to their breeding sites. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classed them as 'Vulnerabe' and place them on the IUCN .

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Image - File:Fiordland penguin (Mattern).jpg From Wikimedia Commons - Author: Thomas Mattern - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence. Subject to disclaimers.

BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Eudyptes pachyrhynchus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 07/03/2014. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2014) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 07/03/2014. 

MarineBio Conservation Society - Fiordland Penguins, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus

IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 March 201