A solitary Macaroni Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus, standing in a Southern Rockhopper Penguin colony on Sea Lion Island, in the Falkland Islands.
Macaroni Penguins mostly breed in large colonies on more southern islands, such as South Georgia, the South Sandwich, South Orkney and South Shetland Islands as well as on the Antarctic Peninsula. However, there are a few pairs breeding in the Falkland Islands, usually amongst a Southern Rockhopper Penguin colony.
Sometimes a Macaroni Penguin will interbreed with a Rockhopper Penguin, probably because no mate of its own species has turned up at the same place. The resulting offspring are fertile and can breed with Macaronis, Rockhoppers or other hybrids.
The Macaroni Penguins are popular with visitors to the Falklands who enjoy picking them out among sometimes hundreds of Rockhoppers in a colony.
This image is copyright © Liz Leyden. All rights strictly as agreed in writing with the author or her agent.
My photograph of a Macaroni Penguin is available to license as a stock photo from my portfolio at iStock.
