| Background Information |
I'm going to make a rather bold move and lump Royal penguins and Macaroni penguins together. I think there's enough similarity between the two to make this move since several now consider the Royal penguin to be a geographically distinct race of Macaroni penguins. I'll talk about them together in this page.
Macaroni penguins are easily identified from the other crested penguins: their crests are bright orange and form on the centerline of the dorsal head and point outwardly, slightly posteriorly. Royal penguins have the same configuration, but they generally have white faces; Macaroni's have black faces. Males and females of both penguins are monomorphic.
Both Royals and Macaroni penguins weigh about 4.5 kilograms, but can weigh more or less depending on the season. They reach about 70 cm in length. Numbers vary slightly depending on whether you are talking about Royals; they reach about 65 cm in length.
Together, Macaroni's and Royals comprise a population of about 10+ million breeding pairs. Breaking it down, there are about 10 million pairs of Macaronis breeding and about 115,000 pairs of Royals breeding. Thus, as you can see, Macaronis are more abundant than Royals. However, their large number doesn't necessarily make them stable; Macaroni penguins may be threatened by the increasing fishing industry. Royals are particularly vulnerable to oil spills.
Macaroni penguins inhabit the maritime Antarctic regions and the Royal penguin inhabits the Subantarctic regions. Some of the breeding ranges overlap: Macquarie Island. Macaronis breed throughout South Shetland, South Sandwich, Bouvet Oy and Prince Edward Island. Niehter is migratory and they both feed upon the same animals: crustaceans (euphausiids, amphipods), fish and squid. They are both preyted upon by leopard seals, skuas, Wekas and petrels.
| Author Bernard Stonehouse |
Macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus, which are probably the largest members of the genus, approach the smaller pygoscelids in length and weight. The orange-yellow crests originate in a broad band across the forehead, and the chin and face are dark. Macaronis breed on South Georgia and other islands of the Scotia Arc, on Bouvet Oy and Heard Island, and on Marion Island, Iles Crozet and Kerguelen, and the Falkland Islands. No subspecies have been postulated, although the Royal penguin on Macquarie Island is by some authorities regarded as a subspecies of the Macaroni. Macaronis form large, tightly packed colonies on flat or rough sloping ground, often seeking the shelter of boulders or tussock grass. Notes on their breeding appear in Matthews (1929) and Dowes et al. (1959), though a comprehensive study of the species has yet to be made.
Royal penguins Eudyptes schlegeli are closely akin to Macaronis, differing mainly in their possession of a predominantly grey or white face; Carrick and Ingham (1970) and Warham ... give them only subspecific status. They breed only on Macquarie Island, in large, dense colonies on tussock-covered slopes of scree and beach. So densely packed are the colonies that vegetation disappears and the birds incubate and rear their chicks in mud. Preliminary accounts of long-term banding studies have been published (Carrick and Ingham, 1967 and 1970), but little information on the breeding and general biology of this species has yet appeared.
| Macaroni/Royal penguin multimedia |
- A group of Royals standing about
- A pair of diligent Macaronis at their nest
- Royal penguins standing around on the shore
- A Macaroni penguin lets off and ecstatic display
- Two Royals displaying two each other
- A quite lonely Macaroni sits on its nest
- A bow is a behavioural cue given by Royals and others
- More Macaronis sitting on their nests
- Royals find a convenient channel between some elephant seals
- A Macaroni penguin stands silently
- A moderatly sized colony of Royal penguins
- A Macaroni penguin in an elaborate vertical trumpet
- Two parent Macaronis watch over their eggs
- A moderately sized colony of Macaronis on the side of a cliff
- Macaronis greet each other at the nest
- Sometimes Chinstraps overlap with Macaronis - David Mundstock
Macaronis penguins come ashore (Discovery Channel).
Macaroni/Royal penguin fact sheet. (PDF, 225k)
