Class: AVES

Order: SPHENISCIFORMES

Family: SPHENISCIDAE

Genus: EUDYPTULA

Species: MINOR, NOVAEHOLLANDIAE?

As implied by its name, the smallest of all penguins. The species, reaching only some 40 centimetres in height, is native to costal regions of South Australia, as well as New Zealand. As well as 'Little Penguin', the bird has received other names, such as 'fairy penguin' or 'blue penguin', which reference its tiny size and bluish colour. Peculiarly, although the other species of penguin are thought to have originated around Australia, many of these have since established populations elsewhere, such as Antarctica. However, in the case of the Little Penguin, its ancestors seemingly stayed in Oceania, with little competition probably leading to its tiny size. Various sub-species of the little penguin are known. These include E. m. iredalei – of Northern areas of the North Island of New Zealand, and E. m. variabilis, found on southern areas of the North Island and also in the Cook Strait. E. m. minor is found on western areas of the South Island and also on Stewart Island, E. m. albosignata on eastern areas of the South Island, and E. m. chathamensis on Chatham Island. Traditionally, the subspecies of the little penguin number six, including E. m. novaehollandiae of southern Australia and Tasmania, south of Australia – but recent studies suggest that the Australian Little Penguin may be distinct enough that it is a species of its own accord. Albeit, many authorities are yet to classify it as such. Of the living penguin genera, the Little Penguin are seemingly most closely related to the ‘banded penguins’ of genus Spheniscus. The two may have diverged some 20 million years ago. Once, most little penguins were found on the Australian mainland – today, the largest colonies are found on Montague, Tollgate and Brush Islands – off the eastern coast of Australia.

The smallest species of penguin, the Little Penguin grows to no more than 45 centimetres in height. It weighs around only 1 kilogramme. The different subspecies of the little penguin are variable in appearance – pictured here are Australian Little Penguins, which are notably brighter in colouration than are other species. The males of the subspecies found on eastern areas of New Zealand’s South Island seem to have a white-coloured ‘stripe’ which crosses into the darker area of the wing. The subspecies have slight differences in bill shape – though the general skull shape bears a resemblance to the penguins of genus Spheniscus, and also the yellow-eyed penguin, Megadyptes antipodes. Similar to the penguins of genera Megadyptes and Eudyptes, though not Spheniscus, the feet of the little penguin are pink-coloured. The wings of the little penguin are the smallest of all penguins, used mainly for assistance with swimming. The dorsal area of the little penguin is dark in colouration, sometimes visibly blue – which works well as camouflage when swimming close to the surface of the water – and even when beneath. As are all penguins, they are countershaded with a white belly – which obscures them even when they are viewed from below.

Little penguins are, by rule, found exclusively in coastal areas, making their nest-burrows in sand-dunes or at the base of cliffs. In some cases, however, penguins’ nests have been found more than 300 metres away from the coast, and over 50 metres above sea level. They are capable swimmers – and have been found at depths of 69 or so metres. Generally they restrict themselves to the immediate waters surrounding their native islands – feeding on inshore pelagic fish, as well as krill and squid. The waters are only used by penguins at daytime – at night-time they retreat to their sandy burrows, and at morning they retreat in the opposite direction. Breeding has been recorded, dependent on location, in all 12 months – with the breeding season variable dependent on where the colonies are located, though in most cases from June until the following February.

Usually, the little penguin lays a clutch of two. Both sexes incubate the eggs over a period of 35 days. Both parents maintain the brown-coloured chick until it is about 15 days old – when one parent leaves it to go hunting for food. Later on, both parents will leave the young to hunt for food when it is old enough. At 9 or so weeks of age, the birds become independent, and leave the nest. At 3 or so years, they become sexually mature. After the fledging of the young, the parents feed to build a fat storage so to sustain them whilst on land, as they moult into a new coat of feathers. Little penguins tend to live for about 7 years in the wild, but live around 20 years in captivity. The current record-holder for longevity belongs to one bird at Phillip Island which seemed be at the age of 25 years and 8 months when it was captured in 2001. Such lifespans, however, are uncommon – and due to difficulties in the sampling method it is unclear how much longer the bird in question lived afterwards. The calls of the little penguin have certain resemblance to the calls of birds of genus Spheniscus, but are higher in pitch.

Little penguins lived without great concern until around the 19th century, when carnivorous mammals such as foxes were introduced to Australasia for the first time. As was the case for many small flightless birds, little penguins became particularly susceptible to attacks from predators. Natural fires have also caused decline – on one Tasmanian island, between 1975 and 1976 more than 2000 penguins were killed as result of fires. Pursuit by pet dogs has also been a common occurrence. In 2019, the Tasmanian government passed a law which would fine dog owners up to $5040, as well as the destruction of their pet, should they be responsible for their pet destroying penguins. Some islands have seen more significant decline than others. Granite Island, in a southern area of Australia, faced drastic decline in its penguin populations from 2001 until 2012 – over these eleven years, some 1570 birds disappearing. It is thought that not only introduced fauna was responsible – it’s thought that New Zealand Fur Seals [Arctocephalus forsteri], found in southern areas of Australia, consumed large numbers of penguins on the island. To this day, the population at Granite Island struggles to see notable increase, though the population remains stable. Although some islands have seen dramatic decline in the number of penguins, the IUCN assesses that the overall population of little penguins is stable. An exact number of penguins is not known – but likely does not exceed 800,000.

They are popular birds to keep in captivity, found in zoos in North America and Australia. Only one institution, at time of writing, keeps them within Europe – a Sea Life centre located in Weymouth. The centre received the species in 2018 when their Australian sanctuary closed – since then, they have produced chicks, and one bird has even received an MRI scan to investigate an issue of balance the young animal had – this bird is believed to be the first penguin to receive an MRI scan. The staff at the centre hope to create a sustainable breeding population of little penguins within Europe.