Penguin of the Day - Rock Hopper

Penguin of the Day - Rockhopper - Images by Jonathan Chester

Rockhopper Eudyptes chrysocome (golden haired) is very noisy and quarrelsome bird, aptly named, Rockhopper, from its habit of bounding up quite steep rock strewn slopes with both feet together.

Theses tough penguins bear the nicknames “Rockies” or “Jumping Jacks” in the Falkland Islands. The smallest member of the crested penguins, the Rockhopper, is distinguished by having red eyes and the adults have a drooping yellow crest.
Immature birds have paler yellow eyebrows and lack the plumes.

Rockhoppers can rocket 1 mere (4 ft) out of the water when they make an exit from the sea and they can leap 30 centimeters (1 foot ) forward in a single bound - super penguin !. Males are generally larger than females and they nest in large colonies in caves on ledges and cliff tops often high above the waves.

On New Island, in the Falklands, a colony of some 3 million rockhoppers exists 200 ft above the sea. The rocks path way to the colony bare scars of thousands of years of erosion by ”rockies” sharp toenails. These high nesting sites are believed to be safer from seals. Rockhopper penguins may share their colonies with King Shags and Black-browed Albatross. They lay two large eggs, because the chicks need a lot of nourishment to develop on a nest of pebbles and grass - depending on what is available.

Rockhopper penguins face two threats on land, marauding birds and bad weather - high winds and rain squalls etc. A similar looking species to the Rockhopper, though with a more orange and bushy plume that meet on the font of its crown, is the Macaroni.

(from The Nature of Penguins. Jonathan Chester)