Crested penguin
| Crested penguin | ||||||||||
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Crested penguin ( Eudyptes schlegeli ) |
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| Eudyptes Schlegeli | ||||||||||
| Finsch , 1876 |
The crested penguin , also called flail penguin ( Eudyptes schlegeli ), is a species of penguin that can be found on the sub-Antarctic islands in the Australian area ( Macquarie Island and neighboring islands). It belongs to the genus of the crested penguins . No subspecies are distinguished for the crested penguin. The IUCN classifies the crested penguin as endangered ( vulnerable ). The reason for the classification is the very small breeding area of this species, so that extraordinary events in this region would have a massive impact on the total population. The total population is currently estimated by the IUCN at 1.7 million sexually mature individuals. The average life expectancy is 10 years.
The crested penguin is very similar to the golden crested penguin and was previously classified as a subspecies. This taxonomic classification has largely been abandoned today and the crested penguin is viewed as an independent species.
Appearance
general characteristics
The crested penguin reaches a body length between 65 and 75 centimeters and is therefore, together with the golden crested penguin, the largest species within the crested penguin genus. As with all crested penguins, the weight of the crested penguin varies greatly over the course of the year. Females weigh between 3 and 8.1 kilograms, males weigh between 3.8 and 8.1 kilograms. The weight tends to be highest immediately before moulting. The minimum weight has so far been determined after the young birds were rearing. Since there are no sufficient data for the crested penguin, the weight after moulting is missing. Other species of the crested penguins tend to have their weight minimum at this point in time. The plumage of the crested penguin shows no noticeable seasonal fluctuations. The only noticeable sexual dimorphism is the size difference between males and females. Males tend to be a little heavier than females. Fledglings can be distinguished from adult crested penguins by differences in plumage up to about two years of age.
plumage
Adult crested penguins have a black skull with long, conspicuous orange-yellow and black feathers that grow on a relatively small area on the forehead. This is about one centimeter behind the base of the beak. The elongated facial feathers fall back and bend slightly behind the eye. The cheeks are white or pale gray up to the throat. This feature is the most important distinguishing feature from other crested penguins. In a few individuals, however, the cheeks are also dark gray or even black. In a larger number of individuals, a narrow gray band separates the female cheeks from the white breast.
The upper body and tail of freshly molted birds are black with a bluish tinge. In crested penguins shortly before moulting, the plumage is paler and often appears brownish. The wings, shaped into fins, are black-blue on the upper side with a thin white border on the fin sides. The underside of the fin is whitish to pinkish-whitish with a small black spot on the end of the fin and a larger black spot on the base of the fin. The beak is strong and massive. The beak color is a dark orange-brown. Many older individuals have conspicuous longitudinal grooves on their beak. The featherless skin at the base of the beak forms a conspicuous pink triangle. The iris is reddish-custom. The front of the legs is pink, while the back is blackish. The feet and webbed feet are also pink, the soles are blackish.
Fledglings
Annual crested penguins can be distinguished from adult crested penguins by their small and slimmer build. Their beak is much smaller than that of the adults, the beak color is darker and more matt. Young birds also tend to have gray cheeks and throats. In addition, they either still lack the feathers completely or the already existing yellow feathers are noticeably short. Even in two-year-old birds, the head of feathers is significantly shorter than in sexually mature crested penguins.
Possible confusion with other penguin species
The crested penguin is very similar to the golden crested penguin. Besides the crested penguin, this is the only species with elongated yellow facial feathers growing on the forehead. However, the golden crested penguin usually has a black throat and black cheeks. This is usually also a little smaller. However, color morphs with white cheeks are occasionally observed in golden crested penguins. The only other penguin species with a white face like the crested penguin is the chinstrap penguin . However, this is considerably smaller and this species does not have yellow face feathers.
distribution
The breeding area of the crested penguin is limited to Macquarie Island and a few smaller neighboring islands. They only stay there during the breeding season. Its range during the non-breeding season is not exactly known. It is assumed, however, that crested penguins then predominantly reside in sub-Antarctic waters in the extreme southwest of the Pacific and extreme southeast of the Indian Ocean, but preferably near Macquarie Island. Odd visitors have already been spotted on the coast of Australia and New Zealand. There is also an observation in waters of the Antarctic . Due to the possibility of confusion with white-faced crested penguins, it is not certain whether the sightings of white-faced crested penguins near Heard Island, Marion Island, the Crozet Islands and the Kerguelen are random visitors of this species or color morphs of the golden crested penguin.
The population on Macquarie Island is now considered stable. In the past, penguins were hunted here in large numbers to extract oil from their fatty tissue.
Diet and predators
The crested penguin feeds mainly on fish , but also on krill and squid, which it catches at depths of up to 50 meters. Its predators include the New Zealand fur seal , the New Zealand sea lion , killer whales and sharks .
Reproduction
Breeding colonies of the crested penguins are found on Macquarie Island both on the hills of the coast and up to 1.6 kilometers further inland. The crested penguins usually use small rivers to reach their breeding colonies. The breeding colonies are partly only a little above sea level, but partly also up to 150 meters above sea level. The nests are usually in open and flat places with a rocky to stony bottom.
So far, only a few studies have been carried out on the social behavior of the crested penguins. Basically, the aggression and courtship behavior is very similar to that of other crested penguin species. Crested penguins return to their breeding colonies in late September to early October. The breeding colonies can be very large. They usually range from 75,000 to 160,000 pairs. An average of 2.43 nests can be found per square meter. Like all crested penguins, the crested penguin lays two eggs. The first egg has an average weight of 100 and the second egg of 163 grams. As with all other crested penguins, there is an inevitable reduction in breeding because crested penguins would not be able to find enough food to feed two nestlings. In more closely examined populations, 83 out of 100 cases have already lost the first egg or was not incubated before the second egg was laid. In clutches where the first egg was still present at the time the second egg was laid, the female usually removed the first egg immediately after the egg was laid. A young bird hatches out of only five out of 100 first eggs. In these cases, the second egg was usually lost while the first was not yet removed. No case is known to date in which crested penguins raised both young birds.
The breeding season of around 35 days is divided into three phases. During the first, the two parent birds often take turns incubating the clutches. During the second phase, which lasts about twelve to fourteen days, the female breeds alone. In the third phase, the male remains with the clutch. The non-breeding penguin is meanwhile looking for food. The male breeds the chick for the first ten to twenty days after hatching. Meanwhile, the female brings in food. At around three weeks old, the young birds join groups of children and are then fed by both parent birds about every two to three days. The young birds fledge at 65 days and from then on are no longer fed by the parent birds. The parent birds then spend about 30 to 35 days at sea and then return to the breeding colony to moult.
Crested penguins reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age.
literature
- Tony D. Williams: The Penguins . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19854-667-X
Web links
- Eudyptes schlegeli in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 20, 2015.
Individual evidence
- ↑ BirdLife factsheet on the crested penguin , accessed on November 21, 2010
- ↑ a b c Daniel Gilpin, William Donohoe, Coralie Wink: Penguins Habitat, Food, Behavior . Bath, ISBN 978-1-4075-0629-6 .
- ^ Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 212
- ^ Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 220
- ^ A b Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 222
- ^ Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 221
- ^ Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 224
- ^ Tony D. Williams: The Penguins, p. 223