EUDYPTULA MINOR - (FORSTER, 1781)
Le Manchot pygmée (Eudyptula minor (Forster, 1781)) est la plus petite espèce de manchots et possède un plumage bleu.
Les manchots pygmées vivent autour du littoral de la Nouvelle-Zélande et des Chatham Islands aussi bien qu'au sud de la Tasmanie et de l'Australie.
Eudyptula minor est le plus petit des manchots. Il mesure entre 345 et 425 mm et pèse entre 1 et 1,1 kg. Le bec mesure environ 3,8 cm et les Ailes autour de 12 cm. Il a un plumage de couleur bleu indigo ou bleu argenté au niveau de la tête, le dos, la queue et les ailes, et un plumage blanc au niveau du ventre. Ses yeux sont gris foncé ou gris légèrement bleuté.
Ils vivent dans de grandes colonies toute l'année, chaque couple de reproduction creusant une cavité. Le Manchot pygmée préfère les plages de sable et les plages rocheuses.
Ils se nourrissent de petits poissons, de calmars, et de krill pour lesquels ils voyagent et plongent la majorité de leur temps. Ils peuvent passer plus de 3 mois en mer pour pouvoir manger.
Ils sont menacés par la pollution si leur colonie est dans une zone ayant une forte activité humaine. Ne pouvant pas voler, les attaques de chiens domestiques sans laisse causent aussi de graves dommages aux manchots tentant de vivre près des populations humaines.
Les manchots pygmées vivent autour du littoral de la Nouvelle-Zélande et des Chatham Islands aussi bien qu'au sud de la Tasmanie et de l'Australie.
Eudyptula minor est le plus petit des manchots. Il mesure entre 345 et 425 mm et pèse entre 1 et 1,1 kg. Le bec mesure environ 3,8 cm et les Ailes autour de 12 cm. Il a un plumage de couleur bleu indigo ou bleu argenté au niveau de la tête, le dos, la queue et les ailes, et un plumage blanc au niveau du ventre. Ses yeux sont gris foncé ou gris légèrement bleuté.
Ils vivent dans de grandes colonies toute l'année, chaque couple de reproduction creusant une cavité. Le Manchot pygmée préfère les plages de sable et les plages rocheuses.
Ils se nourrissent de petits poissons, de calmars, et de krill pour lesquels ils voyagent et plongent la majorité de leur temps. Ils peuvent passer plus de 3 mois en mer pour pouvoir manger.
Ils sont menacés par la pollution si leur colonie est dans une zone ayant une forte activité humaine. Ne pouvant pas voler, les attaques de chiens domestiques sans laisse causent aussi de graves dommages aux manchots tentant de vivre près des populations humaines.
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The little penguin (Eudyptula minor (Forster, 1781)) is the smallest species of penguin.
The little penguin typically grows to between 30 and 33 cm (12 to 13 inches) tall and usually weighs about 1.5 kilogram on average (3.3 pounds). The head and upperparts are blue in colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. The flippers are blue. The dark grey-black beak is 3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts. Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments show in very exceptional cases up to 25 years in captivity.
The little penguin breeds along the entire coastline of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, southern Tasmania and Australia.
Little penguins are diurnal and like many penguin species, spend the largest part of their day swimming and foraging at sea. During the breeding and chick rearing seasons, little penguins will leave their nest at sunrise, forage for food throughout the day and return to their nests just after dusk. Little penguins preen their feathers to keep them waterproof. They do this by rubbing a tiny drop of oil onto every feather from a special gland above the tail.
These birds feed by hunting small fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans, for which they travel and dive quite extensively.
The female matures at 2 years old. The male, however, matures at 3 years old. Little penguins only remain faithful to their partner in breeding seasons and whilst hatching eggs. At other times of the year they do tend to swap burrows. They exhibit site fidelity to their nesting colonies and nesting sites over successive years. Little penguins can breed as isolated pairs, in colonies, or semi-colonially. Nests are situated close to the sea in burrows excavated by the birds or other species, or in caves, rock crevices, under logs or in or under a variety of man-made structures including nest boxes, pipes, stacks of wood or timber, and buildings.
The little penguin typically grows to between 30 and 33 cm (12 to 13 inches) tall and usually weighs about 1.5 kilogram on average (3.3 pounds). The head and upperparts are blue in colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the chin to the belly. The flippers are blue. The dark grey-black beak is 3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts. Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments show in very exceptional cases up to 25 years in captivity.
The little penguin breeds along the entire coastline of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, southern Tasmania and Australia.
Little penguins are diurnal and like many penguin species, spend the largest part of their day swimming and foraging at sea. During the breeding and chick rearing seasons, little penguins will leave their nest at sunrise, forage for food throughout the day and return to their nests just after dusk. Little penguins preen their feathers to keep them waterproof. They do this by rubbing a tiny drop of oil onto every feather from a special gland above the tail.
These birds feed by hunting small fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans, for which they travel and dive quite extensively.
The female matures at 2 years old. The male, however, matures at 3 years old. Little penguins only remain faithful to their partner in breeding seasons and whilst hatching eggs. At other times of the year they do tend to swap burrows. They exhibit site fidelity to their nesting colonies and nesting sites over successive years. Little penguins can breed as isolated pairs, in colonies, or semi-colonially. Nests are situated close to the sea in burrows excavated by the birds or other species, or in caves, rock crevices, under logs or in or under a variety of man-made structures including nest boxes, pipes, stacks of wood or timber, and buildings.