| Background Information |
Humboldt penguins are members of the Spheniscus genus, along with three others with which it is confused. Humboldts look most like Magellanic penguins, and the two species often overlap spatially and temporally. If you are looking at the two from the frontal position, Humboldts have one neck band, Magellanics have two neck bands. Male Humboldts can't be distinguished from female Humboldts without behavioural cues. Both sexes weigh about 4.5 kilograms and are about 65 cm tall.
Humboldt penguins reside mostly on the coasts of Peru and Chile. They breed in these locations as well, so they aren't very migratory in that sense. Humboldt penguins are capable of breeding year round. Humboldt penguins can lay 2 to 3 eggs and can successfully fledge all three.
Humboldt penguins eat small fish and crustaceans, but will take most marine animals given to them. They are preyed upon by skuas and gulls. However, their principal threat is the activity of man. Humboldts often get tangled in fishing nets, or their eggs get trampled by guano harvesters. Like the Galapagos penguin, the Humboldt penguin may have been severaly affected by the last two El Ninos. Approximately 5000 penguins have been counted in Peru and 6000 in Chile. The species is vulnerable.
The Humboldt penguin is also known as the Peruvian penguin. If you want to learn a great deal more about captive Humboldt penguins, go to the articles to read my account of captive Humboldt penguins.
| Author Bernard Stonehouse |
Humboldt or Peruvian penguins Spheniscus humboldti breed on the coast and off-lying islands of northern Chile and Peru, from the Valparaiso region to Lobos de Tierra Island (Murphy 1936). Only slightly smaller than their southern congener, they are distinguished by single white and black bands under the throat. They nest in caverns and burrows, usually in small communities, breeding throughout the year. Traditional breeding grounds have been extensively modified by guano collectors, and the species is probably far less abundant than a century ago. Murphy's account (1936) remains the most authoratative statement on the species' breeding biology.
| Humboldt penguin multimedia |
- Humboldt penguins need to swim in order to cool off
- A group of Humboldt penguins
- During the year, Humboldts nest
- A pair of Humboldt penguins
- Sometimes pelicans mingle with the Humboldts
- A moderate colony of Humboldts
- These penguins know it's feeding time
- A Humboldt swimming around in the pool
- Another Humboldt in the pool at the zoo
- This group usually sat around doing nothing
- This male always liked to ham it up
- Two of a kind
- Humboldt penguin stading on the edge
- Humboldt in Ecstatic Display - kcw
- Humboldt swimming - Alejandro Tabini
- Humboldt standing around - Alejandro Tabini
- A Humboldt penguin preening itself
- A Humboldt penguin looking onward at the camera
Humboldt penguins returning to the nest and courting. (© PBS)
Humboldt penguin fact sheet. (PDF, 111k)
