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Royal Penguin

Royal penguins are striking seabirds that breed only on Australia’s subantarctic Macquarie Island and Bishop and Clerk Islets — and they nest in huge colonies, returning to the same mates year after year.

 

The royal penguin is striking, with its black-and-white feathers, bright pink feet, and vivid yellow-orange crests across its forehead, giving it a bold, crown-like appearance. This sleek black-and-white coloring helps camouflage the penguin while swimming, blending in from above with the dark ocean and from below with the bright surface waters. Their striking crest does not develop until the penguin is about three years old. 

Royal penguins are excellent swimmers and spend much of the year at sea, feeding primarily on krill, fish, and squid during breeding season. While raising their chicks, adults make short and frequent trips in order to make sure their offspring get enough food. During the breeding season, mated pairs build nests on bare, rocky, or sandy ground, which they defend from predators or other penguins. Outside of breeding season, not much is known about where these penguins travel or what they feed on.

 

 

While some of the royal penguin’s life remains a mystery, they are not known to face any dire threats as a species. Climate change may pose a threat to them through heat waves, but so far, this has not occurred near Macquarie Island.

 

 

While royal penguins are not currently in jeopardy, keeping oceans healthy can ensure that they remain thriving. Learn more about Oceana’s campaigns to ensure abundant oceans and protect marine biodiversity here.

 

 

  • Animal Diversity Web 
  • Bost, CA, Thiebot, JB, Pinaud, D, Cherel, Y and Trathan, PN. (2009) Where do penguins go during the inter-breeding period? Using geolocation to track the winter dispersion of the macaroni penguin. Biology Letters 5: 472-476. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0265 
  • Brothers, N and Ledingham, R. (2008) The avifauna of Bishop and Clerk islets and its relationship to nearby Macquarie Island. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 142: 117-122. https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.142.1.117 
  • IUCN Red List 
  • Shepherd, LD, Miskelly, CM, Cherel, Y and Tennyson, AJD. (2021) Genetic identification informs on the distributions of vagrant Royal (Eudyptes schlegeli) and Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) Penguins. Polar Biology 44: 2299-2306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02961-x 

 

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