Macaroni penguin
Eudyptes chrysolophus (J. F. Brandt, 1837)
The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a bird in the penguin family Spheniscidae, order Sphenisciformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 4.5 kg and a wingspan of 70 cm.
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Quick facts about the macaroni penguin
This marine, aquatic carnivore is an aquatic predator and is partially migratory. It lays 2 eggs in 1 clutch per year, incubates them for 36.5 days, and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 4.39 kg – 4.99 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 70 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 70 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 36.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4.97 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the macaroni penguin?
Photos of the macaroni penguin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the macaroni penguin live?
Not recorded
What is the macaroni penguin?
The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of eight species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. It bears a distinctive yellow crest on its forehead. Its face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. Adults weigh on average 5.5 kg (12 lb) and are 70 cm (28 in) in length. The male and female are similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger and stronger with a larger bill. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine life.
Its diet consists of a variety of crustaceans, mainly krill, as well as small fish and cephalopods; the species consumes more marine life annually than any other species of seabird. These birds moult once a year, spending about three to four weeks ashore, before returning to the sea. Numbering up to 100,000 individuals, the breeding colonies of the macaroni penguin are among the largest and densest of all penguin species. After spending the summer breeding, penguins disperse into the oceans for six months; a 2009 study found that macaroni penguins from Kerguelen travelled over 10,000 km (6,200 mi) in the central Indian Ocean.
With about 18 million individuals, the macaroni penguin is the most numerous penguin species. Widespread declines in populations have been recorded since the mid-1970s and their conservation status classification is vulnerable.
From the Wikipedia article “Macaroni penguin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macaroni_penguin&oldid=1376351045), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the macaroni penguin endangered?
The macaroni penguin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the macaroni penguin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderSphenisciformes
- familySpheniscidae
- genusEudyptes
- SpeciesEudyptes chrysolophus (J. F. Brandt, 1837)
Synonyms Catarhactes chrysolophus, Catarrhactes chrysolophus, Eudyptes chrysolophus chrysolophus
Other names and names in other languages (47)
- Macaronipikkewyn (Suidelike Langkuifpikkewyn)Afrikaans
- بطريق المكرونةArabic
- Златокос пингвинBulgarian
- pingüí de cresta dauradaCatalan
- tučňák žlutorohýCzech
- pengwin macaroniWelsh
- Guldlokket PingvinDanish
- MakkaronipinguinGerman
- GoldschopfpinguinGerman
- ortufa pingvenoEsperanto
- Pingüino macaroniSpanish
- Pingüino de macarronesSpanish
- Pingüino frente doradaSpanish
- Pingüino macaroni o pingüino de penacho anaranjadoSpanish
- tuttpingviinEstonian
- kultatöyhtöpingviiniFinnish
- Gorfou doréFrench
- Gorfou macaroniFrench
- Gorfou maraconiFrench
- manchot macaroniFrench
- zlatnouhi pingvinCroatian
- bóbitás pingvinHungarian
- Ոսկեմազ պինգվինArmenian
- Pinguino macaroniItalian
- Eudipte ciuffodoratoItalian
- Pinguino fronte dorataItalian
- マカロニペンギンJapanese
- auksaspalvis kuoduotasis pingvinasLithuanian
- macaronipinguïnDutch
- Macaroni pinguinDutch
- Macaroni-pinguïnDutch
- gulltoppingvinNorwegian
- pingwin złotoczubyPolish
- pinguim-macaroniPortuguese
- Pinguim-de-testa-amarelaPortuguese
- pinguim-macaróniPortuguese
- Златохохлый пингвинRussian
- Золотоволосый пингвинRussian
- tučniak vlasatýSlovak
- Makaroni pingvinSerbian
- macaronipingvinSwedish
- Saçlı PenguenTurkish
- Macaroni pengueniTurkish
- Makaroni pengueniTurkish
- пінгвін золотоволосийUkrainian
- 冠企鵝Chinese
- 长眉企鹅Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the macaroni penguin
Other species in the same genus Eudyptes.
Royal penguin
Eudyptes schlegeli
Western rockhopper penguin
Eudyptes chrysocome
Fiordland penguin
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
Snares penguin
Eudyptes robustus
Erect-crested penguin
Eudyptes sclateri
Northern rockhopper penguin
Eudyptes moseleyi
CompareMacaroni penguin vs Royal penguinMacaroni penguin vs Western rockhopper penguinMacaroni penguin vs Fiordland penguinMacaroni penguin vs Snares penguin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the macaroni penguin?
The macaroni penguin is a bird, a penguin in the family Spheniscidae and the genus Eudyptes.
How heavy is a macaroni penguin?
An adult Macaroni penguin weighs 4.5 kg, with reported values from 4.4 to 5.0 kg.
What does the macaroni penguin eat?
The macaroni penguin is a carnivore and an aquatic predator.
Is the macaroni penguin endangered?
The macaroni penguin is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How many eggs does the macaroni penguin lay?
The macaroni penguin lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 36.5 days.
Does the macaroni penguin migrate?
Yes, the macaroni penguin is partially migratory.
Who named the macaroni penguin?
The macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus, was named by (J. F. Brandt, 1837).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/macaroni-penguin
“Macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/macaroni-penguin.
@misc{macaroni_penguin_2026,
title = {Macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/macaroni-penguin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}