About Antarctica - Dramatic clouds above Reptile Ridge, Adelaide Island
Home » About Antarctica » Wildlife » Birds » Penguins » Macaroni »
Scientific name: Eudyptes chrysolophus
Named after the bizarre “Macaroni coiffure” hairstyles of 18th century dandies, macaroni penguins have orange tufty plumes for eyebrows.
With an estimated population of 12 million breeding pairs, macaroni penguins are the most numerous penguins, but only a proportion of them live in the Antarctic region where they inhabit subantarctic islands (although there is one macaroni rookery on the Antarctic Peninsula).
Macaroni Penguin - Eudyptes chrysolophusMacaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) coming ashore at South Georgia
Macaroni Penguins coming ashore at South GeorgiaPair of Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) - male on the left with larger and thicker bill . Birds sitting at nesting site prior to egg laying
Pair of Macaroni PenguinsAdult male Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Adult male Macaroni PenguinMacaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Macaroni PenguinLarge colony of macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) at Goldcrest point, Bird Island. There are several larger colonies on the Willis Island in the background.
Large colony of macaroni penguinsmacaroni penguins in the 'big mac' colony, Bird Island, South Georgia. This image is associated with the 2005-2010 BAS science programme: DISCOVERY 2010- Integrating Southern Ocean Ecosystems into the Earth System.
Macaroni penguinsMacaroni Penguin and chick at Macaroni Cwm, Bird Island
Macaroni Penguin and chick on Bird Island, South Georgia < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >Macaronis are very colonial, forming massive colonies of hundreds of thousands of birds, nesting on hillsides and rocky cliffs. They are very vocal, especially when establishing territories.
Like other crested penguins, the macaroni has a curious egg-laying habit. Two eggs are laid, the first much smaller than the second. The small egg rarely hatches, and only one chick is ever raised. Why? No one knows.
Did you know?Scientists are still puzzling as to why the smaller of the two eggs laid by crested penguins will produce a chick only if the larger egg is lost.
On the island of South Georgia they arrive at their breeding grounds in late October and lay their eggs about two weeks later. Long incubation shifts are shared between both parents, who can lose up to half of their body weight. The chick fledges two months after hatching. Only one third of the breeding pairs raise a chick to fledge, but this success rate is very stable. The macaroni does not experience the boom and bust cycles of other penguins, possibly because they concentrate their efforts on just one chick.
© NERC-BAS 2007