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Difference between revisions of "Gentoo Penguin" - BirdForum Opus

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'''Breeds''' on the Antarctic Peninsula and Staten Island, the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[South Georgia]], the South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard and Macquarie Islands.
 
'''Breeds''' on the Antarctic Peninsula and Staten Island, the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[South Georgia]], the South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard and Macquarie Islands.
  
Pelagic range not fully known but many remain close to breeding range, others wander northwards to about 430S in [[South America]].
+
Pelagic range not fully known but many remain close to breeding range, others wander northwards to about 43°S in [[South America]].
  
 
'''Vagrants''' recorded in [[Tasmania]] and [[New Zealand]].
 
'''Vagrants''' recorded in [[Tasmania]] and [[New Zealand]].
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
 +
[[Image:20120121 162406.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Young<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Dave+Clark|Dave Clark}}<br />Godthul on [[South Georgia]] Island,  21 January 2012]]
 
====Subspecies====
 
====Subspecies====
[[Image:20120121 162406.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Young<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Dave+Clark|Dave Clark}}<br />Godthul on [[South Georgia]] Island,  21 January 2012]]
 
 
There are 2 subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 
There are 2 subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 
*''P. p. papua'': Larger and longer billed.  
 
*''P. p. papua'': Larger and longer billed.  

Revision as of 00:09, 26 May 2020

Photo © by zweiblumen
Bertha's Beach, East Cove, Falkland Islands, 2004
Pygoscelis papua

Identification

Porpoising to escape a Leopard Seal
Photo © by JCL
Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula, February 2008

76–81 cm (29.9-31.9 in)
Recognised by large size and head pattern
Blue-black above, white below. Head black with white bar over crown
Bill black and orange, legs orange.

Variations

Two races differ in minor size, bill and leg measurements.

Distribution

Circumpolar in the subantarctic.
Breeds on the Antarctic Peninsula and Staten Island, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich Islands, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard and Macquarie Islands.

Pelagic range not fully known but many remain close to breeding range, others wander northwards to about 43°S in South America.

Vagrants recorded in Tasmania and New Zealand.

Taxonomy

Young
Photo © by Dave Clark
Godthul on South Georgia Island, 21 January 2012

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies[1]:

  • P. p. papua: Larger and longer billed.
  • Sub-antarctic regions south to ca 60°S
  • P. p. ellsworthi: Smaller, shorter stubbier flippers, feet and bill.
  • Antarctic Peninsula to South Sandwich Islands

An additional proposed subspecies taeniata (from Macquarie, Heard, Kerguelen and Marion Islands) is merged with nominate.

Habitat

Breeds on remote flat or rocky islands, otherwise at sea but seen close to breeding sites throughout the year.

Behaviour

Breeding

Colonial breeder, August-March, nest is a bulky structure of vegetation or small stones. Two white eggs laid between late-September and mid-October, incubated by both sexes for 33 days. Young fed by both sexes.

Diet

Prey captured by pursuit diving. Their diet includes krill especially southern populations. Northern populations take more fish and different crustaceans.

Vocalisation

Highly vocal. Contact call, a short, low, trumpeting caw. Display call is a loud trumpeting ah, aha, aha, aha, e with head pointing upwards. Also gives a series of raaaarr notes interspersed with higher, more squeaky trumpet notes. A soft repeated hiss is associated with bowing display.

Movements

Partial migrant; subantarctic populations tend to be sedentary, while those of Antarctic Peninsula are migratory.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Lepage D. (2020) Gentoo_Penguin in Avibase - The World Bird Database. Retrieved 26May 2020
  3. Martínez, I., D. A. Christie, F. Jutglar, E.F.J. Garcia, and C.J. Sharpe (2020). Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.genpen1.01
  4. Shirihai, H. 2008. Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife: Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691136660
  5. Howell, S. N. G., and Zufelt, K. (2019) Oceanic Birds of the World: A Photo Guide. Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-691-17501-0

Recommended Citation

External Links


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