Facts on Macaroni Penguins

The macaroni penguin takes its name from the orange-yellow crest of feathers that exists between its eyes. The explorers from England that saw these flightless birds could not help but think of the feathers that stylish men put in their hats back home during the 1700s. Those feathers acquired the name of macaroni. The macaroni penguin is the most abundant of all the penguin species and is the largest of the six varieties of crested penguins.

  1. Size

    • The average size of the macaroni penguin is from 25 to 28 inches. The birds can weigh between 7.75 lbs. and 14 lbs., notes The Animal Files website. Macaroni penguins are skilled swimmers capable of diving to chase their prey to depths of up to 300 feet. An estimated 12 million breeding pairs exist in the wild.

    Geography

    • The Antarctic Connection site ascertains that the largest concentrations of macaroni penguins exist in the maritime and sub Antarctic parts of the southern oceans. As many as 5.4 million breeding pairs live on South Georgia Island, while Heard Island, Scotia Arc, Isles Crozet and Prince Edward are home to large macaroni populations.

    Nesting

    • During the Antarctic summer, macaroni penguins breed, grouping into colonies on the flattest or roughest territory they can find. The female sometimes makes a nest by scraping out a depression in the ground, with many simply laying the egg on bare rock. The female lays two eggs, about four to five days apart, but frequently the first egg, which is always much smaller than the second, winds up lost and does not hatch. The parents take turns incubating the eggs.

    Time Frame

    • Macaroni penguin eggs require an average of 34 days to hatch. The chicks are the responsibility of the male for the first few weeks of their lives, as the female hunts for food in the daytime and returns at night to regurgitate it for the chicks to eat. Month-old chicks congregate in a nursery setting and await their parents' return with food. After about 10 weeks, once their feathers emerge, the youngsters go their own ways.

    Considerations

    • The diet of this penguin consists mainly of sea creatures such as squid, krill and fish. The macaroni penguin typically feeds during the daytime hours. The macaroni penguin falls prey to such predators as the leopard seal and the killer whale, with even the adults at risk from these voracious foes. The majority of deaths though occur when large sea birds such as skuas, gulls and petrels pick off the young left on their own or pilfer the unhatched eggs when the opportunity presents itself.