Macaroni penguin
Macaroni penguin | |
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In South Georgia
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Sphenisciformes |
Family: | Spheniscidae |
Genus: | Eudyptes |
Species: | E. chrysolophus
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Binomial name | |
Eudyptes chrysolophus (Brandt, 1837)
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Macaroni penguin range Breeding colonies in red | |
Synonyms | |
Catarractes chrysolophus Brandt, 1837[2] |
The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. It bears a distinctive yellow crest that resembles macaroni, from which its name is derived. Its face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. Adults weigh on average 5.5 kg (12 lb) and are 70 cm (28 in) in length. The male and female are similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger and stronger with a relatively larger bill. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine lifestyle.
Its diet consists of a variety of
Taxonomy
The macaroni penguin was described from the Falkland Islands in 1837 by German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt.[3] It is one of six or so species in the genus Eudyptes, collectively known as crested penguins. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu "good", and dyptes "diver". The specific name chrysolophus is derived from the Greek words chryse "golden", and lophos "crest".[4]
The common name was recorded from the early 19th century in the Falkland Islands. English sailors apparently named the species for its conspicuous yellow crest.[5] It is similar to the then fashionable Macaroni.
Description
The macaroni penguin is a large, crested penguin, similar in appearance to other members of the genus Eudyptes. An adult bird has an average length of around 70 cm (28 in);
Immature birds are distinguished by their smaller size, smaller, duller-brown bill, dark grey chin and throat, and absent or underdeveloped head plumes, often just a scattering of yellow feathers. The crest is fully developed in birds aged three to four years, a year or two before breeding age.[3]
Macaroni penguins
Distribution and habitat
A 1993 review estimated that the macaroni was the most abundant species of penguin, with a minimum of 11,841,600 pairs worldwide.[15] Macaroni penguins range from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula; at least 216 breeding colonies at 50 sites have been recorded.[16] In South America, macaroni penguins are found in southern Chile, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and South Orkney Islands. They also occupy much of Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, including the northern South Shetland Islands, Bouvet Island, the Prince Edward and Marion islands, the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Heard and McDonald Islands.[17] While foraging for food, groups will range north to the islands off Australia, New Zealand, southern Brazil, Tristan da Cunha, and South Africa.[18]
Ecology
Feeding
The diet of the macaroni penguin consists of a variety of
Foraging for food is generally conducted on a daily basis, from dawn to dusk when they have chicks to feed. Overnight trips are sometimes made, especially as the chicks grow older;[19] a 2008 study that used surgically implanted data loggers to track the movement of the birds showed the foraging trips become longer once the chick-rearing period is over.[24] Birds venture out for 10–20 days during incubation and before the moult.[19] Macaroni penguins are known to be the largest single consumer of marine resources among all of the seabirds, with an estimated take of 9.2 million tonnes of krill a year.[25] Outside the breeding season, macaroni penguins tend to dive deeper, longer, and more efficiently during their winter migration than during the summer breeding season. Year round, foraging dives usually occur during daylight hours, but winter dives are more constrained by daylight due to the shorter days.[26]
Foraging distance from colonies has been measured at around 50 km (31 mi) at South Georgia,
Predators
The macaroni penguin's
Life history
Like most other penguin species, the macaroni penguin is a
Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual, as well as vocal, displays.[31] These behaviours peak early in the breeding period, and colonies particularly quieten when the male macaroni penguins are at sea.[32] Agonistic displays are those which are intended to confront or drive off or, alternatively, appease and avoid conflict with other individuals.[31] Macaroni penguins, particularly those on adjacent nests, may engage in 'bill-jousting'; birds lock bills and wrestle, each trying to unseat the other, as well as batter with flippers and peck or strike its opponent's nape.[33] Submissive displays include the 'slender walk', where birds move through the colony with feathers flattened, flippers moved to the front of the body, and head and neck hunched, and general hunching of head and neck when incubating or standing at the nest.[34]
Courtship and breeding
Female macaroni penguins can begin breeding at around five years of age, while the males do not normally breed until at least six years old. Females breed at a younger age because the male population is larger. The surplus of male penguins allows the female penguins to select more experienced male partners as soon as the females are physically able to breed.[citation needed] Commencing a few days after females arrive at the colony, sexual displays are used by males to attract partners and advertise their territory, and by pairs once together at the nest site and at changeover of incubation shifts.[33] In the 'ecstatic display', a penguin bows forward, making loud throbbing sounds, and then extends its head and neck up until its neck and beak are vertical. The bird then waves its head from side to side, braying loudly.[35] Birds also engage in mutual bowing, trumpeting, and preening.[33] Monitoring of pair fidelity at South Georgia has shown around three-quarters of pairs will breed together again the following year.[14]
Adult macaroni penguins typically begin to breed late in October, and lay their
The fate of the first egg is mostly unknown, but studies on the related
From the moment the egg is hatched, the male macaroni penguin cares for the newly hatched chick. For about 23 to 25 days, the male protects its offspring and helps to keep it warm, since only a few of its feathers have grown in by this time. The female brings food to the chick every one to two days. When they are not being protected by the adult male penguins, the chicks form crèches to keep warm and stay protected. Once their adult feathers have grown in at about 60 to 70 days, they are ready to go out to sea on their own.[42]
Conservation
The population of macaroni penguins is estimated at around 18 million mature individuals; a substantial decline has been recorded in several locations.
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Species Eudyptes chrysolophus (Brandt, 1837)". Australian Biological Resources Study: Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, ACT: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia. 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d Williams (1995) p. 211
- ISBN 0-19-910207-4.
- ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
- PMID 16519228.
- ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6.
- ^ Juliff, Peter (December 2008). "From the Pole to the Equator: A panoply of Penguins" (PDF). The Bird Observer (857). Bird Observation & Conservation Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 214
- .
- ^ a b Williams (1995) p. 213
- ISBN 9783510990689. Retrieved May 26, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-415-97024-2.
- ^ a b c Williams (1995) p. 219
- ISBN 0-948277-14-9.
- S2CID 83631922.
- ^ Bernstein, Neil; Tirrell, Paul. "Short Communications: New Southerly Record for the Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) on the Antarctic Peninsula" (PDF). Auk. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ a b c Curry, Tiera. "Macaroni Penguin". Center for Biological Diversity website. Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ a b c d Williams (1995) p. 215
- ^ Williams (1995) pp. 215–16
- ^ Splettstoesser J, Todd FS (1999). "Stomach stones from Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri colonies in the Weddell Sea" (PDF). Marine Ornithology. 27: 97–100.
- .
- ^ De Villiers MS, Bruyn PJ (2004). "Stone-swallowing by three species of penguins at sub-antarctic Marion Island" (PDF). Marine Ornithology. 32 (2): 185–86. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- S2CID 22075847.
- PMID 15252997.
- .
- .
- ^ Brown CR (1987). "Travelling speed and foraging range of macaroni and rockhopper penguins at Marion Island" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 58: 118–25. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ Green K, Williams R, Green MG (1998). "Foraging ecology and diving behavior of Macaroni Penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus at Heard Island" (PDF). Marine Ornithology. 26: 27–34.
- PMID 19447814.
- ^ a b Williams (1995) p. 57
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 61
- ^ a b c Williams (1995) p. 216
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 190
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 191
- ^ a b c d Williams (1995) p. 217
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 218
- ^ a b Williams (1995) p. 24
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 112
- ^ Williams (1995) p. 113
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia (2005). "Macaroni Penguins". Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts. Archived from the original on October 18, 2010. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ Reynolds, Katie (2001). "Eudypteschrysolophus". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ a b c Benstead, Phil; David Capper; Jonathan Ekstrom; Rachel McClellan; Alison Stattersfield; Andy Symes (2008). "Species Factsheet". BirdLife International. BirdLife International. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- .
- S2CID 86619472.
- ^ Ellis S, Croxall JP, Cooper J (1998). Penguin Conservation Assessment and Management Plan. Apple Valley, Minnesota: IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group.
- S2CID 16429913.
Cited texts
- Williams, Tony D. (1995). The penguins: Spheniscidae. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854667-X.