Little Penguin
Click to enlarge image
creative commons
Fast Facts
-
- IUCN Conservation Status
- LEAST CONCERN (LC)
-
Classification
- Genus
- Eudyptula
- Species
- minor
- Family
- Spheniscidae
- Order
- Sphenisciformes
- Class
- Aves
- Subphylum
- Vertebra
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- Maximum size up to 40 cm
Little Penguins can spend weeks away at sea, dozing and eating among the waves.
Identification
It is blue to black on its head and back, belly white. Flippers are black with a white edge. Bill dark brown and feet pink to light grey. Little penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world and prefer rocks and sand rather than snow and ice.
Habitat
Coastal waters
Distribution
Southern mainland Australia and Tasmania
Feeding and diet
Fish, squid, krill and small crustaceans
Breeding behaviours
Their waterproof feathers keep them warm and dry. They usually build their nests in crevices between rocks or burrows in September. The male penguins attract a mate by doing the digging, often reconstructing old nests. The female will lay two eggs and the pair take turns incubating the eggs in one or two day shifts. Both eggs may hatch but usually only once chick survives.
Conservation status
In NSW some populations are endangered.
