Yellow Eye Penguin

Facts about Yellow Eyed Penguins. The Yellow Eyed Penguin main breeding islands are Campbell, Stewart and Auckland islands. The Yellow Eyed Penguin breed mostly on the south and east coast of the island in New Zealand. In New Zealand, the yellow-eyed or the hōiho penguin, is said to be one of the world's rarest penguin species.

Features of the Yellow Eyed Penguin

The Yellow Eyed Penguin is a family of penguins that is very rare in the world. Both the female and male Yellow Eyed Penguins are almost the same though the male has slightly bigger head and feet. The Yellow Eyed Penguin are (25 1/2 in) (65 cm) tall and weigh around 11 to 14 pounds (5 to 6 kg). The Yellow Eyed Penguin family is the fourth largest among other penguins.
The Yellow Eyed Penguins has different description which varies according to their age. Adults have yellow eyes and eye stripes. The yellow stripes join at the back of the head. Penguins that are moulting-(of an animal-shed old hair skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth that will occur, the adult birds were already molting into their winter shades of gray) The Yellow Eyed Penguin are small in size. The immature yellow eyed penguin looks more like the adults ones though the yellow stripe is not very visible like that one of the adults.

Diet of the The Yellow Eyed Penguin

The Yellow Eyed Penguin diet is made of small to medium sized fish such as sprat, blue cod, red cod, silversides, opalfish, ahuru and squid. Yellow Eyed Penguin are very selective of what they eat and dive to the sea floor to gather their food. Yellow Eyed Penguin don't drink water, since they take in seawater as they swallow their meal and like all penguins, they have a that special gland that removes salt from their bodies after swallowing saltwater

Reproduction of the Yellow Eyed Penguin

The Yellow Eyed Penguin don’t like to breed within the sight of each other and they opt to do it at the back of a tree or in a rock. Yellow Eyed Penguins keep their nests apart especially when they are breeding in coastal areas. The Yellow Eyed Penguin have a very long baby breeding period which is believed to be around a hundred days. The Yellow Eyed Penguin select the nests site in August and normally two eggs are laid in September. The incubation duties (lasting 39 to 50 days) are shared by both female and male Yellow Eyed Penguins, who may spend several days on the nest at a time. For the first six weeks after hatching, the chicks are guarded during the day by one parent while the other is at sea feeding. The foraging Yellow Eyed Penguin adult returns at least daily to feed the chicks and relieve the partner.
When the chicks are around six weeks, both parents go to the sea to make sure that they are well fed. But before the Yellow Eyed Penguin reach the age of six weeks both parents take turns to take care of them. Their main diet is fish. When fish is not in season they feed on arrow squid.

"Scientific name for Penguin Sphenisciformes". Scientific name for Yellow Eyed Penguin Megadyptes antipodes".