Gentoo penguins

Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) breed on subantarctic islands and on the Antarctic Peninsula in small to large colonies. Larger populations of gentoo penguins are found at South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and the Iles Kerguelen.  

Gentoo penguins are the least abundant of the penguins found on the subantarctic islands, with a total breeding population of approximately 314 000 pairs.

Unlike other penguin species, gentoo penguins may breed as early as two years of age.

The gentoo penguin is a medium sized penguin, standing 75-90cm tall and the females are smaller than the male birds.

A bright red-orange bill and conspicuous white eye patches make both adult and juveniles easily distinguishable from any other species of penguin.

The male and female of a pair are both at the nest well before the breeding season begins, and both incubate the egg and brood the chick in shifts.

Gentoo penguins forage at sea close to the colony, and thus their chicks are fed frequently. This may explain why gentoo penguins rear two chicks each year more often than other penguin species. Breeding success is affected by food availability.

Adults can be found throughout the year on breeding islands indicating that they are relatively sedentary. They feed on Rock cod, amphipods and cephalopods (mainly squid). Females tend to eat more krill than the males, while the males tend to eat more fish than the females. It is thought that gentoo penguins are gregarious at sea.

Humans have depleted some gentoo penguin populations in the past. Populations appear to have remained stable for the last 50 years due to the lack of any major threats.

Gentoo penguin eggs are taken by skuas. Young birds are preyed upon by sheathbills, caracaras (falcons), kelp gulls, giant-petrels and feral cats, while older birds are taken by leopard seals. Nests are often flattened by indifferent elephant seals as they move about the island.

Related links

Taxonomic information on the Gentoo Penguins

Australian Antarctic Science (AAS) relating to Gentoo Penguins

Australian Antarctic publications relating to Gentoo Penguins

Unusual penguins

Selected publications relating to Gentoo Penguins

Marchant and Higgins (1993). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Vol 2. Oxford University Press.

Muller-Schwarze, D. (1984). The Behaviour of Penguins-adapted to ice and tropics. State University of New York Press.

Reilly, P. (1994). Penguins of the world. Oxford University Press.

Serventy, D.L., Serventy, V. and John Warham. (1971). The Handbook of Australian Sea Birds. Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd, Hong Kong.

Williams, T.D. (1995). The Penguins. Oxford University Press.

Woehler, E.J. (1993). The Distribution and Abundance of Antarctic and Subantarctic Penguins. Cambridge University Press.