Erect-crested & Fiordland Crested Penguins

Two more Eudyptes penguins today, much less well known than the rockhoppers, the erect-crested penguin (E. sclateri) and the fiordland crested penguin (E. pachyrhynchus).

Erect-crested penguin
Eudyptes sclateri Buller, 1888



Adult erect-crested penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)

Distribution: endemic to New Zealand; breeds mainly on Antipodes (49^oS) and Bounty (47^oS) Islands and also on Auckland Island; winters around eastern South Island and in seas around its breeding range; vagrant to Macquarie, Chatham and southern Australia.

Size: 67cm (26”); males up to 6.4 kg (14 lb); females up to 5.6 kg (12 lb).

Habitat: cool temperate waters around New Zealand; breeds on rocky terrain, boulder beaches or rocky slopes without vegetation or soil; altitude range from 0 to 70 m above sea level.

Diet: reportedly crustaceans (such as krill) and cephalopods (squid).

Etymology: Eudyptes = “good diver” in Greek; sclateri = after Philip Lutley Sclater.



Erect-crested penguin chicks (Eudyptes sclateri) of different ages

Fiordland crested penguin
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus Gray, 1845



Adult fiordland crested penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)

Distribution: endemic to New Zealand; breeds on South Island, Stewart and Solander Islands; non-breeding around New Zealand, also possibly Tasmania and southern Australia.

Size: 55 cm (21½”); males weight up to 5.1 kg (11 lb); females up to 4.8 kg (10½ lb).

Habitat: cool temperate waters around New Zealand; breeds in temperate rainforest, shores, fiords, headlands, caves, rocky coasts, usually with ground cover of ferns and mosses.

Diet: probably cephalopods, crustaceans and fish.

Etymology: Eudyptes = as E. sclateri; pachyrhynchus = “thick beak” in Greek.



Fiordland crested penguin chicks (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) of different ages