Penguins with yellow eyebrows. Big crested penguin. Distribution and reproduction

crested penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)

Class - Birds

Squad - Piguinoid

Family - Penguins

Genus - Crested penguins

Appearance

This is an average penguin with a body length of 55-65 cm, weighing about 2-5 kg. Females are significantly inferior in size to males. Grayish-brown chicks are white below. The plumage of the penguin on the back, wings and head is black, the chin, throat and cheeks are white. Two pale yellow tufts of feathers extend from the nostrils through the dark red eyes along the crown back. Grown up chicks are somewhat different from adults, the main difference is that the yellow cross on the head is smaller than in adults. It is distinguished from other crested penguins by the ability to move its feather dress.

Habitat

It lives near Australia and New Zealand, nests on the Antipodes, Bounty, Campbell and Auckland Islands.

In nature

They feed on fish - Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum), anchovies (Engraulidae) or sardines (herring family), as well as crustaceans such as euphausiids, or krill, or small cephalopods, which they hunt by swallowing directly under water.

Penguins drink mostly sea water. Excess salt is excreted through special glands located above the eyes.

These penguins are among the public species. They have interesting courtship rituals, which are accompanied by low repetitive sounds - the "song". The call of the penguin is repeated at an even pace and consists of the same set of sounds. The cry of a penguin can only be heard during the daytime. Chicks also call their parents with cries, but their “song” is much shorter and not so complicated, and it is sung at higher notes.

reproduction

The large crested penguin breeds in large colonies. Males usually return to nesting sites two weeks before females. The beginning of the mating season is marked by extraordinary activity, including fights. Nesting is arranged on a flat area of ​​rocks no higher than 70 m above sea level. The female builds the nest by herself, raking out debris from under it with her paws. The male lays out the nest with stones, mud and grass. Eggs are laid from early October, laying lasts three to five days, during which time the female does not eat anything.

There are two eggs in the clutch, the second egg is larger than the first. The eggs are light blue or greenish in color, but later they turn brown. From the moment when the second egg is laid, incubation begins, which lasts 35 days. The first egg usually does not survive (in 98% of cases) so penguins only incubate one egg.

During the winter months, the penguin does not leave the cool waters of the Subantarctic, but where exactly he spends all this time has not been established. It usually nests in colonies with other crested penguin species. The rocky islands abound in many caves suitable for nesting. There is little vegetation on them, usually low grass and shrubs.

They take turns incubating: two or three days after the eggs are laid, the female leaves the nest, and the male remains on guard. This lasts three to four weeks, all this time the penguin fasts. Then the chicks hatch. The female returns to the chicks during the day to feed them by regurgitating food. In February, the chicks already have plumage and they leave the islands that gave them birth.

The average life expectancy is 10 years.

Penguins need special conditions that require not only a special pool, but also a climate control system. Seemingly harmless creatures, they have a complex character and at any moment can peck or bite until they bleed. Birds are a lot of trouble. They often get sick, are very picky about food - they prefer mainly fish. Despite all the difficulties of keeping, penguins feel great in captivity.

For a comfortable stay, penguins need a cold atmosphere, a spacious swimming pool and a rocky shore. The air temperature in the pool is not higher than 15-20°C, the water temperature in the pool is 10-15°C. In addition, penguins do not tolerate the sun well, so if the enclosure is located outside, it is necessary to equip a grotto in it, where the penguins could hide during the day.

Squad: penguins Family: Penguins Genus: crested penguins View: Great crested penguin Latin name Eudyptes sclateri
(Buller, )

Description This is an average penguin body length 63-65 cm, weight about 4-5 kg. Females are significantly inferior in size to males. Grayish-brown chicks are white below. The plumage of the penguin on the back, wings and head is black, the chin, throat and cheeks are white. Two pale yellow tufts of feathers extend from the nostrils through the dark red eyes along the crown back. Grown up chicks are somewhat different from adults, the main difference is the yellow cross on the head is smaller than in adults. It is distinguished from other crested penguins by the ability to move its feather dress. Spreading It lives near Australia and New Zealand, nests on the Antipodes, Bounty, Campbell and Auckland Islands. The modern population has about 200,000 pairs and is recognized as stable. Lifestyle reproduction These penguins are among the public species. They have interesting courtship rituals that are accompanied by low repetitive sounds - "song". The call of the penguin is repeated at an even pace and consists of the same set of sounds. The cry of a penguin can only be heard during the daytime. Chicks also call their parents with cries, but their “song” is much shorter and not so complicated, and it is sung at higher notes. The large crested penguin breeds in large colonies. Males usually return to nesting sites two weeks before females. The beginning of the mating season is marked by extraordinary activity, including fights. Nesting is arranged on a flat area of ​​rocks no higher than 70 m above sea level. The female builds the nest by herself, raking out debris from under it with her paws. The male lays out the nest with stones, mud and grass. Eggs are laid from early October, laying lasts three to five days, during which time the female does not eat anything. There are two eggs in the clutch, the second egg is larger than the first. The eggs are light blue or greenish in color, but later they turn brown. From the moment when the second egg is laid, incubation begins, which lasts 35 days. The first egg usually does not survive (in 98% of cases) so penguins only incubate one egg. During the winter months, the penguin does not leave the cool waters of the Subantarctic, but where exactly he spends all this time has not been established. It usually nests in colonies with other crested penguin species. The rocky islands abound in many caves suitable for nesting. There is little vegetation on them, usually low grass and shrubs. They take turns incubating: two or three days after the eggs are laid, the female leaves the nest, and the male remains on guard. This lasts three to four weeks, all this time the penguin fasts. Then the chicks hatch. The female returns to the chicks during the day to feed them by regurgitating food. In February, the chicks already have plumage and they leave the islands that gave them birth. Threats The population of the great crested penguin is threatened by the IUCN. Scientists have found that over the past forty-five years, the population has declined by almost half. This is due to the custom of nesting only on certain islands. The species is listed in the Red Book under the category "Endangered Species". Write a review on the article "Big Crested Penguin" Notes Links

An excerpt characterizing the Great Crested Penguin

– But this is wrong, dad! .. – I was indignant.
- And you take a closer look at your school friends - do they often say something different from what is written? - I was embarrassed ... he was again, as always, right. “That's because their parents teach them to be just good and obedient students and get good grades. But they don’t teach them to think... Perhaps because they didn’t think much themselves... Or maybe also because fear has already taken root too deeply in them... So move your convolutions, my Svetlenkaya, to find for yourself, what is more important to you - your grades, or your own thinking.
– Is it really possible to be afraid to think, dad?.. After all, no one hears our thoughts?.. Why then be afraid?
“They won’t hear you… But each mature thought forms your consciousness, Svetlenkaya.” And when your thoughts change, you change with them too... And if your thoughts are correct, then someone may very, very much not like them. Not all people like to think, you see. A lot of people prefer to put it on the shoulders of others, like you, while they themselves remain only "performers" of other people's desires for the rest of their lives. And happiness for them if the same “thinkers” do not fight for power, because then it’s not real human values ​​that come into play, but lies, bragging, violence, and even crime, if they want to get rid of those who think with them " out of place…” Therefore, thinking can be very dangerous, my Light One. And everything depends only on whether you will be afraid of it or prefer your human honor to fear ...
I climbed up to my father on the sofa and curled up next to him, imitating the (very dissatisfied) Grishka. Next to dad, I always felt very secure and peaceful. It seemed that nothing bad could get to us, just as nothing bad could happen to me when I was next to him. Which, of course, could not be said about the disheveled Grishka, since he also adored the hours spent with dad and could not stand it when someone invaded these hours ... He hissed at me very unfriendly and showed with his whole appearance that it was better I wish I could get out of here as soon as possible... I laughed and decided to leave him to quietly enjoy such a dear pleasure for him, and she went to warm up a little - to play snowballs in the yard with the neighbor's guys.
I was counting the days and hours until my tenth birthday, feeling almost "totally grown up", but, to my great shame, I was not able to forget my "birthday surprise" for a minute, which, of course, is nothing. nothing positive added to my very “adulthood” ...
I, like all children in the world, adored gifts ... And now for days on end I wondered what it could be, what, in the opinion of my grandmother, I should have “really liked” with such confidence? ..
But the wait was not so long, and very soon it was fully confirmed that it was very worth doing it ...
Finally, my "birthday" morning was cold, sparkling and sunny, as befits a real holiday. The air “burst” from the cold with colored stars and literally “ringed”, forcing pedestrians to move faster than usual ... All of us, going out into the yard, were breathtaking, and steam literally poured from “everything living” around, funny making everyone look like multi-colored steam locomotives hurrying in different directions...
After breakfast, I simply could not sit still and followed my mother with a “tail”, waiting for when I would finally see my long-awaited “surprise”. To my great surprise, my mother went with me to the neighbor's house and knocked on the door ... Despite the fact that our neighbor was a very pleasant person, what relation she could have to my birthday remained a mystery to me ...

This species belongs to the penguin family and is included in the genus crested penguins. The crested penguin lives in the very north of the subantarctic zone. These birds live on the Falkland Islands, on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, on the southern coast of South America, on the Auckland Islands, on the Antipodes Islands. Nesting sites are rocky areas near freshwater reservoirs and other natural water sources. This species is divided into 2 subspecies.

Description

The body length is 48-62 cm. The weight varies from 2 to 3.4 kg. The largest specimens reach a mass of 4.5 kg. The plumage is waterproof. Feathers in length reach 2.5-2.9 cm. The back of the representatives of the species is blue-black, the chest and belly are white with a slight yellowish tint. The head is black.

The beak is short and has a red-brown color. The eyes are small and dark red, the paws are pinkish, located behind the body. The wings are narrow and look like flippers. A notable feature of these birds are the peculiar long feathers on their heads. They stretch from the beak and end behind the eyes with tassels. Their color is yellow, sometimes yellow-white.

Reproduction and lifespan

This species nests in large colonies, which may contain up to 100,000 nests. The couples are monogamous. The breeding season is September - November. The clutch contains 2 eggs of different sizes. The chick that hatches from the larger egg usually survives.

The incubation period lasts about 33 days. The male and female take turns incubating the eggs. In the lower abdomen, crested penguins have a patch of skin without feathers. It provides heat transfer from the body to the eggs. After hatching, during the first 25 days, the male remains with the offspring, and the female gets food and feeds herself. After this time, the chickens are combined into small groups of "nursery". They stay there until they are fully grown.

After breeding, adult birds accumulate fat reserves and prepare for the annual molt. It takes 25 days. During this time, representatives of the species completely change their plumage. After molting, they leave the land and spend the winter months at sea. They return to the shore to start breeding again. In the wild, the crested penguin lives 10-12 years.

Behavior and nutrition

A notable feature of the representatives of the species is that, overcoming obstacles, they do not slide on them with their stomachs and do not rise with the help of wings, as other penguins do. They try to jump over boulders and cracks. They are well adapted to marine life. They have streamlined bodies and strong wings to help them move quickly through the water. The diet consists of krill and other crustaceans. Squids, octopuses, fish are also eaten. When extracting prey, they can dive to a depth of 100 meters.

conservation status

The number of crested penguins is decreasing from year to year. Over the past 30 years, it has fallen by 34%. In the Falkland Islands, numbers have declined by 90% over the past 60 years. This is explained by the growth of tourism and environmental pollution. Commercial squid harvesting also contributes to the reduction in the number of these penguins. This species currently has a status of concern.

Although this penguin was called "big", it can not be called large.

And if you compare it with the emperor penguin, whose height is 120 cm and weighs 30 kg, then it may even seem like a baby. After all, the growth of this penguin is only 55 cm, and the weight is about 4 kilograms.

Apparently because of this discrepancy between the name and appearance of this penguin, it is often called the Snar golden-crested. Another name is the crested Snar penguin. Both indicate that this species belongs to the Snar Islands archipelago. These penguins really live only here, in a small area, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich does not exceed 3.3 square kilometers.

Although the place is small, it has many advantages for its inhabitants. First, there are no predators. Secondly, many bushes and trees grow under which penguins can nest. An equally positive point is that the archipelago is a marine reserve, so there is practically no human intervention in the life of penguins. According to biologists, from thirty to thirty-three thousand pairs of penguins of this species nest in this small area.

Big penguin: a sophisticated combination of a black tailcoat with yellow eyebrows.

A distinctive feature of a large penguin is the yellow tufts located above its eyes. Like other penguin species, its back, head, wings and tail are black, and its belly is white. The Snar penguin has a fairly powerful beak, the base of which is white or pink. It is necessary to distinguish the Snar penguin from the Victoria penguin, since the former has black cheeks, while the latter has white feathers growing on them. Males and females do not differ in appearance from each other, except that males are slightly taller and heavier.

The behavior of these penguins is interesting to watch because it is very funny, and even when they show aggression. For example, if a penguin notices an uninvited guest on its site, then it spreads its wings wide, starts stomping, and all this is accompanied by grumbling. Thus, the Snar penguin tries to scare the enemy. In some cases, he performs the same actions without sound, perhaps it seems to him that he looks even scarier that way.

And in relation to their partners, crested Snar penguins are very polite. Returning from feeding, they begin to bow to each other, the female is the first, and the male answers her bows. If the spouse has been absent somewhere for a long time, then, having returned, he performs another ritual: he looks the female in the eyes, after which he bows his head and lets out a loud cry, while stretching his beak. The female in response repeats all his actions. Apparently, in this way they recognize spouses in each other. And if the partners are very bored, then they shorten the ceremony and trumpet and bow at the same time.

Males, while courting their chosen one, stretch to their full height, inflate their chest, and spread their wings, thereby trying to visually add extra pounds and centimeters to themselves. In their opinion, this is how they are more likely to please the female.

Listen to the voice of the big penguin

Large penguins build their nests on the ground. To do this, they first dig a small hole, and then line its bottom with small branches. The female lays two eggs, and she does this with a break of 3-4 days. The first egg is noticeably smaller than the second. Both parents incubate them alternately. While one of them warms the masonry, the second brings him food. Penguins are born in 32-35 days. However, one of the kids, unfortunately, will be destined to die due to adverse weather conditions.

IUCN 3.1 Vulnerable:

Rock climbing penguin (crested)(lat. Eudyptes chrysocome listen)) is a bird of the penguin family.

Description

Penguin (length 55-62 cm, weight from 2 to 3 kg (on average 2.3 - 2.7 kg), with narrow yellow "eyebrows" ending in tassels. Distributed on the islands of the Subantarctic, Tasmania and Tierra del Fuego. And also lives on the mainland coast of South America.These are the northernmost of all penguins inhabiting the subantarctic zone.

The paws of climbers are short, located behind the body, closer to the back. The plumage is waterproof, the feathers are 2.9 cm long, the color is white below and bluish-black above. There are bright yellow feathers on the head, growing from the eyebrows in all directions, and black feathers on the top of the head. The wings are strong, narrow, similar to flippers. The eyes are tiny.

Spreading

The population size - about 3.5 million pairs, is considered stable.

Lifestyle

Climbers usually form very large colonies, often using rock ledges, lava plateaus, coarse gravelly coastal slopes. On islands with a developed soil layer, they dig nesting niches and real burrows, usually under high hummocks formed by perennial grasses. Nests are lined with pebbles, grass, small bones.

Rock climbing penguins feed on krill and other crustaceans. They find their food during the daytime swimming in the sea.

Climbing penguins are social birds and are rarely seen alone. Their colonies are very numerous and, as a result, very aggressive. Birds behave noisily, making loud calls to call partners or announce that the territory is occupied. Another gesture - shaking the head, feathered with yellow - also serves to attract attention. When resting, penguins hide their heads under their wings. At the end of summer, climbing penguins leave the colony and spend 3-5 months at sea fattening. Their wings resemble flippers and help swim well, but are not adapted for flight. Climbing penguins live on coastal cliffs, adhering to thickets of tall grass, where they dig holes and make nests. They attract a lot of tourists to the Falklands and are the main attraction of the islands. Uncontrolled fishing deprives penguins of food, another factor holding back population growth is water pollution by oil and its waste.

The life span of climbing penguins is 10 years.

reproduction

Climbers start breeding in September-October in the north, in November-December in the south of the range. Partners call each other with a characteristic cry, signaling their readiness to mate. Pairs are formed for many years. Sometimes there are 3 eggs in a clutch. And the male incubates them. During incubation, he does not leave the land, sometimes the female substitutes. It also warms newborns, and if the female does not appear on time with a portion of food, the male feeds the chick with "penguin" milk, which is formed as a result of digestion of food. The first egg is 20-50% smaller than the subsequent ones, it usually dies, although in the event that it falls into favorable conditions, a full-fledged penguin hatches from it. Having laid an egg, the female passes it to the male, who hides it in a fold on her stomach and does not part with it all the time of incubation, which lasts 4 months. The downy outfit is black and gray, with a white belly. Having reached 10 weeks of age, the young molt and become similar to adults. On some islands, crested penguins suffer from pigs, dogs, and foxes introduced by humans.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Crested Penguin

Dron, who came, confirmed Dunyasha's words: the peasants came at the order of the princess.
“Yes, I never called them,” said the princess. You must have told them wrong. I only told you to give them the bread.
Drone sighed without answering.
“If you tell them to, they will leave,” he said.
“No, no, I will go to them,” said Princess Mary
Despite Dunyasha's and the nurse's dissuades, Princess Mary went out onto the porch. Dron, Dunyasha, the nurse, and Mikhail Ivanovich followed her. “They probably think that I am offering them bread so that they remain in their places, and I myself will leave, leaving them to the mercy of the French,” thought Princess Mary. - I will promise them a month in an apartment near Moscow; I am sure that Andre would have done even more in my place, ”she thought, approaching the crowd in the pasture near the barn at dusk.
The crowd, crowding together, began to stir, and hats were quickly taken off. Princess Mary, lowering her eyes and tangling her feet in her dress, went close to them. So many varied old and young eyes were fixed on her, and there were so many different faces, that Princess Mary did not see a single face and, feeling the need to suddenly talk to everyone, did not know what to do. But again, the realization that she was the representative of her father and brother gave her strength, and she boldly began her speech.
“I am very glad that you have come,” Princess Marya began, without raising her eyes and feeling how quickly and strongly her heart was beating. “Dronushka told me that the war ruined you. This is our common grief, and I will spare nothing to help you. I am going myself, because it is already dangerous here and the enemy is close ... because ... I give you everything, my friends, and I ask you to take everything, all our bread, so that you do not have a need. And if you were told that I am giving you bread so that you stay here, then this is not true. On the contrary, I ask you to leave with all your property to our suburban area, and there I take upon myself and promise you that you will not be in need. You will be given houses and bread. The princess stopped. Only sighs could be heard in the crowd.
“I am not doing this on my own,” the princess continued, “I am doing this in the name of my late father, who was a good master to you, and for my brother and his son.
She stopped again. No one interrupted her silence.
- Woe is our common, and we will divide everything in half. Everything that is mine is yours,” she said, looking around at the faces that stood before her.
All eyes looked at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether it was curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or fear and distrust, the expression on all faces was the same.
“Many are pleased with your grace, only we don’t have to take the master’s bread,” said a voice from behind.
- Yes, why? - said the princess.
No one answered, and Princess Mary, looking around the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes she met immediately dropped.
- Why don't you want to? she asked again.
Nobody answered.
Princess Marya felt heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone's gaze.
- Why don't you speak? - the princess turned to the old old man, who, leaning on a stick, stood in front of her. Tell me if you think you need anything else. I'll do anything," she said, catching his eye. But he, as if angry at this, lowered his head completely and said:
- Why agree, we do not need bread.
- Well, should we quit everything? Do not agree. Disagree... There is no our consent. We pity you, but there is no our consent. Go on your own, alone…” was heard in the crowd from different sides. And again the same expression appeared on all the faces of this crowd, and now it was probably no longer an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of embittered determination.
“Yes, you didn’t understand, right,” said Princess Marya with a sad smile. Why don't you want to go? I promise to accommodate you, feed you. And here the enemy will ruin you ...