Rockhopper Penguin

rockhopper penguin, either of two species of crested penguins (genus Eudyptes, order Sphenisciformes) characterized by its red eyes, a relatively thin stripe of upright yellow feathers extending from the bill to the back of the head above each eye (the superciliary stripe), and a crest of black feathers that stands upright on the top of the head.

northern rockhopper penguin

southern rockhopper penguin

Rockhopper penguins were once part of a single species, E. chrysocome, which was separated into three subspecies—a northern group (E. chrysocome moseleyi), a southern group (E. chrysocome chrysocome), and an eastern group (E. chrysocome filholi). However, their geographic isolation from one another paired with the results of a study conducted in 2006 by French ecologist Pierre Jouventin, which noted several genetic and behavioral differences between E. chrysocome moseleyi, on one hand, and E. chrysocome chrysocome and E. chrysocome filholi, on the other, supported the separation of rockhopper penguins into two distinct species. At present the species is divided into northern rockhopper penguins (E. moseleyi) and southern rockhopper penguins (E. chrysocome).