| Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)) |
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Scientific name: Megadyptes antipodes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) Common name: Yellow-eyed Penguin French name: Manchot antipode, Manchot à œil jaune. Order: Sphenisciformes Family: Spheniscidae Size: Body size: 65 to 78 cm; Weight: 3.7 to 8.5 kg. Habitat: Woodland areas or areas with abundant vegetation along the coast. Food: Mainly fish supplemented by some squid and shellfish. The Yellow-eyed Penguin is a benthic species, meaning it searches for food in the immediate vicinity of the ocean floor. It can dive up to 40 or even 100 meters deep. Nesting: Yellow-eyed Penguins do not nest in colonies. Small groups disperse in the coastal vegetation up to a kilometre from the shore and the nests are fairly spaced from each other. Females usually lay two eggs in September. Migration: Sedentary. Geographic area: Endemic to the South Island of New Zealand and neighbouring islands. There are two populations. The northern population occurs along the southeast coast of New Zealand's South Island, as far as Stewart Island and Codfish Island. The southern population occurs on the sub-Antarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell. |
The Yellow-eyed Penguin has a band of light yellow feathers that surrounds its eyes and extends to encircle the back of its head. The top and sides of the head are grey speckled with yellow. The eye is yellow. The quite long bill is pale pink and red. The back and tail are black. The breast, belly, thighs and underwings are white. Juveniles are duller, less colourful and the eye is grey. It is the rarest Penguin in the world and the species has been declining in recent years. It is considered in danger of extinction. |
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What a pleasant surprise to see two Yellow-eyed penguins very close to the trail during our little walk to Katiki point. I had to quickly change lenses to reduce the focal length so that they fit in the frame. |
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The proximity allowed me to take beautiful close-up views. |
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No jealous bird, a portrait for everyone. |
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The Yellow-eyed Penguins then walked back down the slope to reach the beach. |
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We had the pleasure of seeing them walking peacefully towards the sea, taking many photos in front of such a spectacle. |
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Here they are now at the edge of the ocean. Is this the start of fishing? |
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One minute and twenty seconds later (thanks to the EXIF data which gives the time of the shots) we saw three Yellow-eyed Penguins coming out of the water at the same place. I don't know if there are the two penguins that we just saw leave recently. |
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Short walk on the beach. |
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In a row, well aligned facing the photographer ;-) |
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Was this Yellow-eyed Penguin calling? I don't remember hearing anything. |
André Bon April 2024