BirdUp · Species
Little Penguin
Eudyptula minor(Forster, JR, 1781)
- Order
- SPHENISCIFORMES
- Family
- Spheniscidae
- Genus
- Eudyptula
- Commonness
- Very common
- Best seen
- Year-round
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
The little penguin is the smallest species of penguin in the world, and originates from New Zealand and Australia. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage and is also known by its Māori name kororā. It is a marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk. Eudyptula minor feathers are dense in melanosomes, which increase water resistance and give them their unique blue colour.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
02 · Where
Where to find it
- Breeding range
- South Australia and North, South, Stewart and Chatham is. (east of South I.; New Zealand)
03 · When
When to look
Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
4 photos
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