Story: Penguins

Erect-crested penguin (3rd of 3)

Erect-crested penguin

Many sites where penguins nest do not offer the luxury of trees or even soil. The Bounty Islands (630 kilometres south-east of Banks Peninsula), where many erect-crested penguins breed, are bare granite rock. The best a penguin can do is lay the egg on a surface flat enough to stop it rolling away. Here, the parent is turning the egg to maintain an even temperature, then tucking it in against the brood pouch where insulating feathers can be parted, exposing a patch of skin that is well supplied with blood vessels that keeps the egg warm.

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Department of Conservation
Reference: 10056486
Photograph by Tui De Roy

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Courtesy of Roving Tortoise Worldwide Nature Photography

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How to cite this page:

Lloyd Spencer Davis, 'Penguins - Life on land', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/6389/erect-crested-penguin (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Lloyd Spencer Davis, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 11 Jul 2016