Rockhopper Penguin

Scientic name: Eudyptes chrysocome

Size: 2.5 kg (m), 2.4 kg (f)
Nest type: in colonies in the open; sometimes in association with other
species
Favorite food: krill, sh and squid

Breeding in sometimes-large colonies throughout the sub-Antarctic.
Smaller than its congeners, but no less aggressive. There is some
evidence that the Northern Rockhopper or Moseleys Penguin is
deserving of separate species status. Whatever, the Northern Rockhopper
and Southern Rockhopper are clearly closely related and much of what
applies to one probably holds for the other, but actual data are still
scarce.

Identication:
Rockhoppers are distinguished from other crested penguins by their
smaller size and by having only a thin yellow superscilium. The feather
plumes are yellow, not orange as in Macaroni Penguin, and thinner than in
the remaining Eudyptes species. The red eye is distinctive. Southern
Rockhopper Penguins di"er from their Northern counterparts in having a
narrower supercilium and shorter plumes, which reach just over the black
throat. Their vocalisations are also di"erent. The Southern Rockhopper
actually comprises two subspecies that have been described and can be
identied in the eld: the nominate form from South America and the
Falkland Islands and the eastern subspecies lholi from the New Zealand
sub-Antarctic islands. The eastern form mainly di"ers from the nominate
subspecies in having a pink line of eshy skin along the lower mandible
which is black in the nominate subspecies. Immature birds have only a
narrow supercilium and a pale mottled grey chin. Identication of juveniles
is di#cult. Shape of the supercilium, bill shape, body size and underwing
pattern can aid identication. Separation of juvenile Southern and
Northern Rockhopper Penguins in the eld is probably impossible.

Habits:
Breeding colonies are located on rocky slopes and amongst tussocks,
sometimes in small caves and amongst crevices. A small nest is build
from tussock, peat and pebbles. Nevertheless, most of the rst-laid eggs
(A-eggs) are lost during incubation. The few chicks that hatch from A-
eggs almost invariably die during the rst few days of brooding.

Distribution: map
The northern form of the Rockhopper Penguin breeds in cool temperate
climates, generally north of the subtropical convergence, with breeding
occurring on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island in the Atlantic Ocean
and St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands in the Indian Ocean. The breeding
season starts three months earlier (July) than in the southern form. The
latter is restricted to the northern sub-Antarctic and has a circumpolar
distribution. Breeding colonies are around the Cape Horn area, Falklands,
Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Campbell,
Auckland and Antipodes Islands. Campbell Island used to be the eastern
stronghold of the species, but the population there has plummeted
recently.

Migration and Vagrancy:
The non-breeding pelagic range is poorly known. Moulting birds
especially have been found in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The western subspecies (nominate form) has been recorded as far as the
Snares Islands during moult. Vagrants of the Northern Rockhopper have
been recorded on the Chatham Islands.

Diet:
Crustaceans, in particular euphausids, make up the bulk of food items
consumed during most studies of this species. Fish and cephalopods
play a minor role, though one study found 53% cephalopods (by weight).
Over 90% of the diet (by mass) of Northern Rockhopper Penguins
breeding on Gough Island consisted of crustaceans (mainly euphausids).
The remaining 10% was made up of sh and, to a very small extent,
squid.