How Big Is a Fiordland Penguin?

The Fiordland Penguin is considered to be a medium sized penguin.  Let's learn more about these interesting penguins, including how big they are.

Fiordland Penguins are not very big.  They grow to about 24 inches or 60 cm. The males weigh around 9 pounds or 4.1 kg and the females weigh around 8.2 pounds or 3.7 kg.

• They are black and white with a yellow crest. 
• Their upper parts are a bluish gray and their underside is white. 
• They have a broad yellow stripe over their eye that continues in a dropping plume down to their neck. 
• Another distinguishing feature is the three to six white stripes on their face. 
• The Fiordland Penguins are similar to snares penguins, but are bigger and don’t have a fleshy margin at the base of their bill. 
• They are the only crested penguins with white facial stripes.

• The scientific name for the Fiordland Penguin is Eudyptes pachyrhynchu. In Greek, “pachy” means “thick” and “rhyncho” means “beak.” 
• There are six species in the genus “Eudyptes” which in Ancient Greek means “good diver.” 
• They live and breed on the Fiordland coast of New Zealand, hence their name.
• They are also known as the Fiordland Crested Penguin, thick-billed penguin, Victoria penguin, and the New Zealand penguin. 
• They were first described in 1845 by English zoologist George Robert Gray.  

So, now you know how big a Fiordland Penguin is, as well as some other key facts about them.