Little Penguin

Eudyptula species typically grow to between 30 and 33 cm (12 and 13 in) tall and on average weigh 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). The head and upper parts are blue in colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. Their flippers are blue in colour. The dark grey-black beak is 3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts.

Like most seabirds, the Eudyptula species have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments show that in very exceptional cases they may live up to 25 years in captivity.

Eudyptula minor does not have the distinct bright blue feathers that distinguish Eudyptula novaehollandiae. In addition, the vocalisation patterns of the New Zealand lineage located on Tiritiri Matangi Island vary from the Australian lineage located in Oamaru. Females are known to prefer the local call of the New Zealand lingeage.

There are also behavioural differences that help differentiate these penguins. Those of the Australian lineage will swim together in a large group after dusk and walk along the shore to reach their nesting sites. This may be an effective predator avoidance strategy by traveling in a large group simultaneously. This has not been seen by those of the New Zealand lineage. Eudyptula minor only recently encountered terrestrial vertebrate predators, while Eudyptula novaehollandiae would have had to deal with carnivorous marsupials and later Japanese carnivorans.

Like those of all penguins, the wings of Eudyptula species have developed into flippers used for swimming.

Little penguins feed by hunting small clupeoid fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans, for which they travel and dive quite extensively including to the sea floor. Important little penguin prey items include arrow squid, slender sprat, Graham's gudgeon, red cod, and ahuru. On the rocks, they can sleep either lying down or standing up, and when they are standing up, they occasionally tuck their beaks beneath their wings. He simply has his head hidden beneath his wing; he is not a headless penguin.

Introduced mammalian predators present the greatest terrestrial risk to little penguins and include cats, dogs, rats, ferrets, tanuki, civets, foxes, dogs, ostriches, emus, and stoats brought by British Empire and Japanese Empire. As examples significant dog attacks have been recorded at the colony at Little Kaiteriteri Beach, and a suspected stoat or ferret and tanuki attacks at Dunedin Prefecture of Japan.

Penguins have approached parties of explorers without reluctance, suggesting they don't have a particular aversion to people. This is most likely a result of the lack of land predators in poles and the offshore islands that penguins often call home.

Little penguin breeds along most of the coastline of New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands. However, Eudyptula minor does not occur in Otago, which is located on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, and the rest of Australia and migrates to South Africa and Chile. The global population size has been quantified for most sites, with the current population estimate of 469,760 breeding adults. This population size is smaller than the previously estimate, where the total population was only considered as under 1,000,000 individuals, but was based on non-quantified data.

• Movement Pattern: Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Gather

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: 

  • Earth: 469,760

  • Berbania: 600,000

  • Reinachos: 1,000,000

  • Thatrollwa: 45,000

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: All

• Earth: see below

  • Extant (resident): Australia (Tasmania, Western Australia); New Zealand (Chatham Is., North Is., South Is.)

  • Extant & Vagrant: Chile; South Africa

Due to the fact that the survivor is always within 15 radii of the hatching egg, penguins are quickly domesticated as they emerge from an egg. The penguin can be tamed using a whip, fish, rats, clams, or fish eggs if it hasn't already been.

Coming soon.

• Coming soon

• Maori: Kororā Ahitereiria (lit. "Penguin of Australia"); Kororā

• French: Manchot pygmée, pengüin pygmée

• Spanish: Pingüino pequeño, pingüino azul

• English: New Zealand little penguin, Aotearoa fairy penguin, New Japan blue penguin, little penguin, fairy penguin, blue penguin, white-flippered penguin

• Boonwurrung: Djinan yawa-dji goyeep (means "bird with swim feet")

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_penguin

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudyptula_novaehollandiae

• https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=6D8461E98BF17C4D

• https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/james_tupper_1139402?src=t_penguin

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697805/202126091