Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Eudyptes
Species: E. robustus
Binomial name: Eudyptes robustus
Common names: Snares crested penguin, Snares penguin
Eudyptes robustus is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on The Snares, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South Island. This is a medium-small, yellow-crested penguin, at a size of 50–70 cm and a weight of 2.5–4 kg. It has dark blue-black upperparts and white underparts. It has a bright yellow eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye to form a drooping, bushy crest. It has bare pink skin at the base of its large red-brown bill.
This penguin nests in small colonies >10 nests to large colonies of >1200 nests that are under forest cover or they are in the open. The main colonies are located on North East Island, other colonies are established on Broughton Island as well as the rocky Western Chain. The Snares penguin's main prey is krill, supplemented by squid and small fish. The species is currently rated as vulnerable by the IUCN as its breeding range is restricted to one small island group. The current population is estimated at around 25,000 breeding pairs.
Predators of adult Snares penguins are sea lions and leopard seals. Their eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predation by skuas and petrels.
The two photos below are of the Snares crested penguin (Eudyptes robustus) Snares Island, Subantarctic
Photos courtesy of Tamzin Henderson@ https://www.tamzinnz.com/
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
