Humboldt Penguin

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Humboldt Penguin
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n : Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Sphenisciformes : Spheniscidae : Spheniscus : humboldti \n
Binomial name
Spheniscus humboldti \nMeyen, 1834

\nThe Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin and the Galapagos Penguin. Humboldt Penguins are medium-sized, black and white penguins, growing to 53 cm tall. They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with a black breast-band extending down the flanks to the thigh. They have a fleshy-pink base to the bill. Juveniles have dark heads and no breast-band. This penguin nests on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes or caves. The current status of this penguin is vulnerable, due to a declining population caused in part by over-fishing. Historically it was the victim of guano over-exploitation.

External link

\n*Humboldt penguins from the International Penguin Conservation Web Site \n\n Category:Fauna of Chile\nCategory:Penguins