Erect-crested penguins are perhaps some of the rarest and most mysterious of the penguins. Living in seclusion, they are often undisturbed. Those that come upon the Erect-crested penguin find penguins of moderate size: approximately 3.5 kilograms in mass and 65-70 cm in height. Males and females are monomorphic, but Erect-crested penguins can be distinguished from other crested penguins with their erect, yellow crests stemming upward along each side of the head from the bill.

    Erect-crested penguins live in the cold temperate Subantarctic region, especially the Antipodes south of New Zealand. They breed in the Antipodes, Campbell Islands, Auckland Islands and Bounty Island. Fighting is prevalent amongst this species, as nesting location is a highly valued resource. The female typically lays two eggs, but the first is almost invariably lost due to neglect, failure to fertilize or misdirection of hormonal signal. The second egg develops normally.

    According to 1998 estimates, the Erect-crested penguin is endangered, though I haven't seen it appear on any formal endangered species list. It is at the least threatened since populations have declined since Stonehouse's accounts of the 70s. There are approximately 165,000 breeeding pairs compared to the 200,000 pairs of his population density. Food supply and predation are minimally unaltered in these waters since many other crested penguins feed in the same niche. Erect-crested penguins feed on small fish and small crustaceans and are preyed upon by skuas and fur seals.

    The Erect-crested penguin, Eudyptes atratus is also known as Eudyptes sclateri.

    Erect-crested penguins Eudyptes atratus (= sclateri) breed in huge colonies on the bare, exposed rocks of the Bounty Islands and on the tussock- clad beaches and cliffs of the Antipodes Islands. Small numbers breed also on Campbell Island, and breeding pairs are occasionally reported from New Zealand; one pair was studied intensively through a breeding cycle by Richdale (1941). Crests of this species sweep upward and back from the bill, the eyes are chocolate brown, and the top horny ridge of the bill has parallel sides. The most recent accounts of this species are given by Warham.

• An Erect-crested penguin surveying the land
• A nesting Erect-crested penguin cooling off.

Erect-crested penguins and their lives.

A pair of Erect-crested penguins reinforcing their bond. (© PBS)

Erect-crested penguin fact sheet. (PDF, 111k)

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