Little penguin
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.
The Australian little penguin, from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand, was initially described as Spheniscus ''novaehollandiae in 1826 and was later classified as Eudyptula minor novaehollandiae'', a subspecies of the little penguin.
Taxonomy
The little penguin was first described by German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781. Several subspecies are known, but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotypes of the subspecies E. m. variabilis and Eudyptula minor chathamensis are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The white-flippered penguin is currently considered by most taxonomists to be a colour morph or subspecies of Eudyptula minor. In 2008, Hadoram Shirihai treated the little penguin and white-flippered penguin as allospecies. However, as of 2012, the IUCN and BirdLife International consider the white-flippered penguin to be a subspecies or morph of the little penguin.Little penguins from New Zealand and Australia were once considered to be the same species, called Eudyptula minor. Analysis of mtDNA in 2002 revealed two clades in Eudyptula: one containing little penguins of New Zealand's North Island, Cook Strait and Chatham Island, as well as the white-flippered penguin, and a second containing little penguins of Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand. Preliminary analysis of braying calls and cluster analysis of morphometrics partially supported these results. A 2016 study described the Australian little penguin as a new and separate species, Eudyptula novaehollandiae. E. minor is endemic to New Zealand, while E. novaehollandiae is found in Australia and Otago. A 2019 study supported the recognition of E. minor and E. novaehollandiae as separate species.
The IUCN assessment for Eudyptula minor uses Eudyptula minor and Eudyptula novaehollandiae interchangeably throughout the report to specify location, but considers them as two genetically distinct clades within the same species.
Description
Like those of all penguins, the wings of Eudyptula species have developed into flippers used for swimming.Eudyptula species typically grow to between tall and on average weigh 1.5 kg. The head and upper parts are blue in colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. Their flippers are blue in colour. The dark grey-black beak is 3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts.
Like most seabirds, the Eudyptula species have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments show that in very exceptional cases they may live up to 25 years in captivity.
Eudyptula minor does not have the distinct bright blue feathers that distinguish Eudyptula novaehollandiae. In addition, the vocalisation patterns of the New Zealand lineage located on Tiritiri Matangi Island vary from the Australian lineage located in Oamaru. Females are known to prefer the local call of the New Zealand lineage.
There are also behavioural differences that help differentiate these penguins. Those of the Australian lineage will swim together in a large group after dusk and walk along the shore to reach their nesting sites. This may be an effective predator avoidance strategy by traveling in a large group simultaneously. This has not been seen by those of the New Zealand lineage. Eudyptula ''minor only recently encountered terrestrial vertebrate predators, while Eudyptula novaehollandiae would have had to deal with carnivorous marsupials.
Also, Eudyptula novaehollandiae'' located in Australia will double brood. Birds will double brood by laying another clutch of eggs in hopes to increase their reproductive success. They complete this after the first clutch has successfully fledged. They may also do this due to the increasing sea surface temperatures and changing sources of food that are available. This behaviour has never been observed by those in New Zealand.
Distribution and habitat
The Australian little penguin is native to Southern Australia. The species also colonized the Otago region of New Zealand after the human-caused decline of the endemic species Eudyptula minor.Tagged or banded birds later recaptured or found deceased have shown that individual birds can travel great distances during their lifetimes. In 1984, a penguin that had been tagged at Gabo Island in eastern Victoria was found dead at Victor Harbor in South Australia. Another little penguin was found near Adelaide in 1970 after being tagged at Phillip Island in Victoria the previous year. In 1996, a banded penguin was found dead at Middleton. It had been banded in 1991 at Troubridge Island in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia.
The Australian little penguin's foraging range is quite limited in terms of distance from shore when compared to seabirds that can fly.
Australia
The Australian little penguin occurs across Southern Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Jervis Bay Territory. Colonies primarily exist on offshore islands, where they are protected from feral terrestrial predators and human disturbance. Colonies are found from Port Stephens in northern New South Wales around the southern coast to Fremantle, Western Australia. Foraging penguins have occasionally been seen as far north as Southport, Queensland and Shark Bay, Western Australia.New South Wales
An endangered population of Australian little penguins exists at Manly, in Sydney's North Harbour. The population is protected under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and has been managed in accordance with a Recovery Plan since the year 2000. The population once numbered in the hundreds but has decreased to around 60 pairs of birds. The decline is believed to be mainly due to loss of suitable habitat, attacks by foxes and dogs and disturbance at nesting sites.The largest colony in New South Wales is on Montague Island. Up to 8,000 breeding pairs are known to nest there each year. Additional colonies exist on the Tollgate Islands in Batemans Bay.
Additional colonies exist in the Five Islands Nature Reserve, offshore from Port Kembla, and at Boondelbah Island, Cabbage Tree Island, and the Broughton Islands off Port Stephens.
Jervis Bay Territory
A population of about 5,000 breeding pairs exists on Bowen Island. The colony has increased from 500 pairs in 1979 and 1500 pairs in 1985. During this time, the island was privately leased. The island was vacated in 1986.South Australia
In South Australia, many Australian little penguin colony declines have been identified across the state. In some cases, colonies have declined to extinction, while others have declined from thousands of animals to few. The only known mainland colony exists at Bunda Cliffs on the state's far west coast, though colonies have existed historically on the Yorke Peninsula. A report released in 2011 presented evidence supporting the listing of the statewide population or the more closely monitored sub-population from Gulf St. Vincent as Vulnerable under South Australia's National Parks & Wildlife Act 1972. As of 2014, the little penguin is not listed as a species of conservation concern, despite ongoing declines at many colonies.Encounter Bay and Granite Island
The Granite Island population has undergone a significant decline since the 20th century. In July 1991, National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia estimated the Encounter Bay area population of little penguins to total 7,000 birds. A general population count conducted in early December 1991 found 571 penguins on Granite Island, and a total of 2600 in the Encounter Bay area. In 1992, Granite Island's population was believed to be stable, estimated to total between 1000 and 1500 little penguins. In 1998, the colony was considered to be "very healthy" and was estimated to contain 1800 birds.Before 2000, the estimated number of penguins on Granite Island was alternatively estimated as over 3000 or "more than 1600", but numbers have dropped dramatically since then. Rats and foxes have both been threats to the population of little penguins at times, and the millennium drought contributed to a steep decline in numbers after 2001.
In 2001, the population count was 1,548 penguins. A count conducted in October 2013 totalled 38 penguins. A fox attack on Granite Island in 2020 reduced the population to 12 penguins. In late 2020, nesting little penguins were discovered on West Island, indicating recolonisation had occurred on that island since 2013, when none were found.
A December 2022 survey estimated 22 birds on Granite Island, with a different study putting the number at 26 that year. After 28 birds were counted in mid-2023, researchers were hopeful of a recovery in numbers. A count by volunteers in late 2025 revealed the number of birds to be around 36, up from 30 the previous year. There were 18 active burrows.