Also called:  Little Blue Penguin, Fairy Penguin, Australian Little Penguin

Smallest of all penguin species

Height:    41 to 45 cm (16 to 18 inches) for average adult   

Weight:    .5 to 2 kg (1 to 1.5 lbs) for average adult

• Back, flippers and top of head dark blue.
• White chest, chin and underside of flippers with white on edges of flippers.
• Gray eyes.
• Patches of bare skin on their face that radiate excess heat to keep them cool.
• Black bill.  The male’s bill is thicker and longer than the female’s.
• Juveniles covered with gray-brown down.

• Pinkish.

• Krill and cephalopods.
• Opportunistic, takes advantage of the most abundant prey but not more than 50 mm (2 inches) in length.

• Breeds in burrows where digging is possible or under bushes.
• The nest/burrow consists of a nesting chamber located above a tunnel usually approximately 60 to 80 cm (24 to 32 inches) deep.

Breeding:

• Males secure a nesting burrow, stand at the entrance trying to attract a mate through a series of vocalizations and displays.  Sometimes males gather together on a rocky site in “calling clubs” in non-breeding areas to find a partner.
• Once a mate is found they set out to the nesting site.  The same pairs form year after year and often return to the same nest.
• The females lay 2 white eggs and both parents take turns incubating the clutch in the leaf lined burrow.
• Chicks stay in the burrow for approximately 2 months and are fed daily by one parent.  When the chicks are able to regulate their body temperature with a layer of down both parents will leave the burrow to fish.
• Soon the chicks wait for their parents at dusk outside the burrow calling to their parents with a peeping or hissing sound.

• Sea lions, sharks and barracudas at sea.
• Lizards, snakes, skuas, gulls and sea eagles prey upon eggs and chicks.
• Dogs, cats, weasels, ferrets, rats, and other animals that were introduced attack adult penguins, destroy nests and feed on the eggs and chicks.

• Colonies are along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia, on the shores of New Zealand, Tasmania and Chatham Islands