Snares Island Map

Snare Penguin: Eudyptes robusus

Guy in a nest: Like the Fiordland Penguin, but endemically on the Snares Islands, which lie about 100 km southwards of the next Fiordland Penguin population. It is the least common of all penguin species, with a brood area of just over 300 ha in the Snares group.

Like Fiordland penguins (differences see above). Contrary to the penguins with the erect penguins, the feathers are hanging on the comb, the face stripes reach further upwards and they have a more conic beak. Frequently the woods die of pinguin guano and create glades. Bird species construct a cups' hut from turf, timber and gravel and nest in thick settlements.

Like the Fiordland penguin, both fledglings slip, but only the first hatchling (from the B-egg) usually survive beyond the first few weeks. Endemically on the Snares Islands just outside New Zealand. Vagabonds were taken in on Macquarie Island and the Falklands.

Egypt's robust

He is very similar to the Fiordland-crested Penguin, with whom he can be mistaken especially at sea. Headache, neck and upper body are dark brown, the underside knows. Its beak is very sturdy, especially in males, and the striking area of naked hide at the basis of the beak makes it easier to tell the Snares from the Fiordland phoen.

Snares can also have some kind of blank buccal feather, but this only happens in a few specimens, and they do not line like the Fiordland Phoenicin. Snares headed penguins breed only on the small Snares isles ('341 ha in total). Most of the island is surrounded by a wood of the treeflowers Olearia lyalli and Brachyglottis stawartiae.

At present, the number of brood couples is put at 30,000 (2000 brooding period). In August the male returns to the hatcheries. Females follow soon after and two females are born at the end of September/beginning of October, the bigger "B"-egg 4.5 after the smaller "A"-egg.

Most couples loose one of them during the breeding season, and when two hatches, a chicken usually die before the end of the waking period. In the first few months of their lives, the young are watched over by the adult males and are nourished by the males. Afterwards, both partners feeding the chicken and the chicken migrates, crunches with other youngsters when they are near, but returns to the barn to be feeded.

The chickens flee at 11 months. The estimated lifespan of the first breed is about 6 years. Young people often hike to the eastern shore of the South Island, mostly to the molt. Snares is the only sub-Antarctic island in New Zealand that is totally free of imported terrestrial animals and its unintended entry would be catastrophic.

That' s why the Snares Island is off limits to the general population. Seal Lion and Lepard Seal are carnivores of adult and young animals, while Skua' takes an egg and a chick.