Penguin (Humboldt)

What they look like

Humboldts are medium-sized penguins. They have black heads with a white stripe on either side and pink skin around their eyes and base of the bill.

Animal facts

These penguins need to lose heat, rather than conserve it. Bare patches beside their bills and large wings help do this. Humboldt penguins preen themselves and other members of the colony; they gather oil from a gland in their tail and apply it to their feathers like a gel. Humboldt penguins swallow their fish head first and can reach up to 30 miles per hour in the water in order to catch prey.

What they eat

Small fish and crustaceans

Habitat

At sea, but nests on rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and also using scrape nests or caves.

Where they live

Coastal Peru and Chile.

Threats

Numbers in the wild are declining. They are at risk from disturbance of colonies by Guano harvesting. Guano (penguin droppings) is a valuable fertiliser and is harvested periodically from many colonies.  They are also threatened by pollution from oil spills, overfishing, and habitat loss. Humboldt penguins are hunted by seals, sealions and sharks.