Penguins of New Zealand Antarctica
Adélie penguins
The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) has a circumpolar distribution confined to the Antarctic, where it breeds on the shores and off-lying islands. Within the New Zealand-claimed Ross Sea sector, there are colonies breeding on Ross Island and north along the western coastline of the Ross Sea to Cape Adare, the largest Adélie penguin colony in the world.
Medium-sized at 71 centimetres and 5 kilograms, these are the classic tuxedoed black and white penguins, with the distinctive white eye ring.
Chinstrap penguins
The chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) is a member of the same genus as Adélie penguins, and also confined to the Antarctic. They are mostly concentrated around the Antarctic Peninsula, with an anomalous few breeding on the Balleny Islands in the Ross Sea sector.
Similar in body mass to an Adélie, although a little longer at about 77 centimetres, they are recognisable by their white faces and a thin black line running under the chin. Like Adélies, they feed almost exclusively on krill.
Emperor penguin
The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) breeds in Antarctica, in winter, on stationary sea ice. There are colonies at Cape Crozier (Ross Island), at Beaufort Island, and along the western margins of the Ross Sea at Cape Washington.
Emperors are the largest of all living penguins, about 112 centimetres long and 30–38 kilograms in body mass. They (and the closely related king penguin) differ from other penguins in that they lay only a single egg, incubated on their feet rather than in a nest.
Vagrant visitors to New Zealand
Four other species are frequently recorded as visitors to New Zealand:
- king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
- Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)
- gentoo (Pygoscelis papua)
- royal subspecies of the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus schlegeli).
