The macaroni penguin is a species of crested penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. It bears a distinctive yellow crest, and the face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. With about 18 million individuals, it is the most numerous penguin species. Widespread declines in populations have been recorded since the mid-1970s and their conservation status is classified as vulnerable.
About Macaroni penguin in brief
The macaroni penguin is a species of crested penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. It bears a distinctive yellow crest, and the face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. It is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine lifestyle. The species consumes more marine life annually than any other species of seabird. With about 18 million individuals, it is the most numerous penguin species. Widespread declines in populations have been recorded since the mid-1970s and their conservation status is classified as vulnerable. The breeding colonies are among the largest and densest of all penguin Species. After spending the summer breeding, penguins disperse into the oceans for six months. The most striking feature is the yellow crest that arises from the centre of the forehead, and extends horizontally backwards to the nape of the head. The male and female are similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger and stronger with a relatively larger bill. Interbreeding with the Indo-Pacific subspecies of the southern rockhopper penguin has been reported at Heard and Marion Islands, with three hybrids recorded there by a 1987–88 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition. The common name was recorded from the early 19th century in the Falkland Islands. English sailors apparently named the species for its conspicuous yellow crest; Maccaronism was a term for a particular style in 18th-century England marked by flamboyant or excessive ornamentation.
A person who adopted this fashion was labelled a \”maccaroni\” or \”macaroni\”, as in the song \”Yankee Doodle\”. Molecular clock evidence using DNA suggests the macarono penguin split from its closest relative, the royal penguin, around 1. 5 million years ago. The two species are very similar in appearances; the royal Penguin has a white face instead of the usually black face of the Macaroni. An adult bird has an average length of around 70 cm ; the weight varies markedly depending on time of year and sex. Males average from 3.3 kg after incubating, or 3.7 kg after moult to 6.4 kg before moult, while females average 3.2 kg. Among standard measurements, the thick bill measures 7 to 8 cm, the wing, from the shoulder to the tip, is around a centimetre less and the tail is 9–10 cm long. The head, chin, throat, and upper parts are black, against the black and white under parts. The large, bulbous bill is orange-brown with a black tip and leading edge with a white leading edge. The flippers are blue-black on the upper surface with a trailing white edge, and mainly white underneath with a pink-black leading edge on the lower surface. The red-brown iris is a bare, bare-brown patch of iris and a pink and pink-ish patch of pink-is a red and brown iris.
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This page is based on the article Macaroni penguin published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 20, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
