The little penguin is the smallest penguin in the world, standing just 12-13 inches (30-33 cm) tall and weighing 2-3 lbs (1-1.5 kg). It is also called the fairy penguin in Australia and the blue penguin, or korora, in New Zealand, for the slate-blue sheen of its back.
Little penguins have the same waterproof, densely packed feathers as their big relatives and the same flipper-like wings, and they can live 6-7 years in the wild, sometimes much longer.
Scientists now think there may be two species, one in New Zealand and one in Australia, that look almost identical.
Little penguins live along the southern coasts of Australia, including Tasmania, and around New Zealand. They nest in burrows, caves and rock crevices and, near towns, under boardwalks and houses. The most famous colony is on Phillip Island near Melbourne, where visitors watch the nightly penguin parade.
They feed in coastal waters, usually within a few miles of the shore.
Little penguins eat small schooling fish such as anchovies, pilchards and sprats, along with squid and krill. They make hundreds of short dives a day, mostly shallower than 65 feet (20 m), though they can reach 230 feet (70 m).
Little penguins come ashore only after dark, gathering offshore in groups called rafts and then waddling up the beach together to their burrows. The colonies are loud at night with braying, growling and yapping calls.
Pairs lay two eggs and share the work, and in a good year they can raise two broods. On Middle Island in Victoria, Maremma sheepdogs guard the colony from foxes, a scheme that saved it from being wiped out.
Eudyptula minor is the only species in its genus, although the Australian birds may be split off as Eudyptula novaehollandiae. The IUCN lists the little penguin as Least Concern, with several hundred thousand birds.
On land they are killed by dogs, cats, foxes, stoats and cars, and at sea by oil spills, fishing nets and warming water that moves their prey away. Many colonies are now fenced and managed.
