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  Profile

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  In flight

Penguins

Fiordland Penguin

Eudyptes pachyrhynchus

• rare
• 8 km/h
• Near Threatened

Breeds in the caves and tree roots of New Zealand's Fiordland rainforest, retreating from the sea to nest inland.

Population

Roughly 2,500-3,000 breeding pairs (1990s surveys counted ~2,500 pairs; widely regarded by NZ DOC and other sources as a likely undercount)

Habitat

Dense temperate coastal rainforest, sea caves, boulder fields, and tree-root hollows along rugged coastlines; nests in small scattered colonies hidden under forest cover or among rocks rather than in open, exposed colonies

Fun fact

Unlike most penguins, which breed in open, exposed colonies, the Fiordland penguin nests solitarily or in small loose groups hidden inside dense temperate rainforest, sea caves, or under tree roots and boulders.

Range

Endemic to New Zealand; breeds along the southwest coast of the South Island south of Bruce Bay (Fiordland, South Westland), Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island/Rakiura and outlying islands (including Codfish Island/Whenua Hou and Solander Island); occasional vagrants reach as far as Tasmania and southern Australia, and within NZ as far north as Northland/Hawke's Bay

Diet

Primarily cephalopods (~85%, mainly arrow squid), supplemented by crustaceans (~13%, chiefly krill) and a small amount of fish (~2%)

Size

0.6 m

Lifespan

20 years