Royal Penguin

About the Royal Penguin

The royal penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) is a species of penguin, which can be found only on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and adjacent islands. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the royal penguin as Least Concern.

The royal penguin belongs to the genus Eudyptes. It was first described by the German ornithologist Otto Finsch in 1876 and was named in honor of the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel. The species is very closely related to the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), and the two have sometimes been treated as conspecific due to their similar morphology and behavior. Hybridization between royal and macaroni penguins has also been recorded on Macquarie Island.

The royal penguin closely resembles the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), from which it differs primarily in having a white or pale grey face and chin rather than black. Adults possess a black head, back, and flippers contrasted with white underparts, and bear long yellow-orange crest feathers extending from the forehead over the eyes. The bill is orange-brown with a dark tip, and the eyes are red-brown.

Adults typically weigh between 11... Wikipedia →