Macaroni penguin

At penguin coast you can say ‘Ciao’ to Tony the Don, Vinnie the voice, Little Nico and Frankie the fish!

The Macaroni mafia are taking over the joint.

They’re easy to spot in amongst their Humboldt cousins at Penguin Coast as they have distinctive yellow crest feathers and a prominent orange beak.

If you love penguins, you can adopt a penguin today, or even feed a penguin on a penguin experience!

The macaroni penguin is a large species, found in the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Peninsula. Their name comes from the distinctive yellow feathered crest on the penguins’ heads that apparently resemble the feathers that featured on hats worn by men in the 18th century; referred to as macaroni’s (just like in the classic nursery rhyme ‘Yankee Doodle’).

Conservation

The Macaroni penguin is classed as vulnerable. Common threats to their existence include commercial fishing, marine pollution and predators.

Fun facts about Macaroni penguins

They are one of six species of crested penguin and are very closely related to the royal penguin.
They can dive anywhere between 15 – 70 metres and can hold their breath for up to three minutes.
Macaroni’s can hop as well as waddle.
A Macaroni breeding ground can host anywhere between 100,000 to 3,000,000 breeding couples.
Penguins have very distinctive calls and can recognise each other among a whole bunch of noisy penguins…with Macaronis being the loudest.

Latin name
Eudyptes chrysolophus

Class
Aves

Order
Sphenisciformes

Family
Spheniscidae

Conservation status
Vulnerable