Erect-Crested Penguin

The erect-crested penguin is one of three similar-looking crested penguins endemic to southern New Zealand. Its main breeding grounds are on the remote Bounty and Antipodes Islands. This species has the most extreme egg size dimorphism of any bird, with the second egg of the clutch averaging 81% larger than the first egg. The purpose of this first egg remains unknown, with nearly all pairs losing the smaller first egg around the time the second egg is laid. Almost all the birds breed on three islands in the Antipodes Island group and eight islands in the Bounty Islands. Over 30,000 pairs breed on the Antipodes Islands, and ~26,000 pairs on the Bounty Islands, with a world population of about 70,000 mature individuals. The Bounty Island population of erect-crested penguins appears to be stable, in contrast to the species’ ongoing decline on the Antipodes Islands located 200 km to the south. The breeding islands are free of introduced predators (mice on Antipodes Island are not considered a threat), and there are no recognised interactions with fisheries.

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For more information on erect-crested penguin natural history visit the Global Penguin Society at https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-9.html   

 

For more information on Erect-crested penguin conservation status visit the IUCN Red List page at https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697789/131879000