Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti Scientific name definitions

The Humboldt Penguinn is a medium-sized penguin that breeds coastally in Peru and Chile and feeds offshore in the Humboldt Current. It overlaps the similar Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in central Chile, but can be distinguished by its narrower white supercilium and larger fleshy margins at the base of its bill. Pairs nest in small colonies on islands or rocky coasts. Humboldt Penguins feed mostly on schooling fish and squid. This species is threatened by various activities, including commercial fishing, hunting, and the live animal trade.

65–70 cm; 4–4·7 kg. White-browed penguin with relatively large bill and much pink around bill base. Adult has upperparts  entirely blackish, usually more slate or brownish than black, this colour extending narrowly to axillary region, often with whitish patch on central uppertail-coverts; flipper blackish above except very narrow white trailing edge, underside mainly whitish or pinkish, more or less densely dotted blackish (sometimes blackish predominating on inner half of flipper), large blackish patch over rear base and axillaries, leading edge has submarginal blackish bar over most of proximal half of flipper, distal part has variable-length blackish central stripe turning into margin at tip; tail blackish; foreface from sides of forehead to lower mandible entirely bare, pink over (usually broader) anterior part, extending to form complete orbital ring, blackish at upper portion and posteriorly around gape and down throat-sides, where contrasts with visible pale feather bases at start of feathered rear face and throat, which are blackish and separated from upperparts by white brow starting narrowly on sides of forecrown, broadening behind eye and running down neck-sides; underparts white, with bold blackish horseshoe on upper chest and each side (usually becoming narrower at thighs), while white areas have scattered blackish dots; iris red to dark brown (rarely, black) (1 Scholten, C. J. (1999). Iris colour of Humboldt Penguins Spheniscus humboldti. Marine Ornithology. 27: 187–194. Close ), with broad paler reddish-brown to pale grey inner ring; bill black or dark grey crossed by pale grey band, mandible with some pale horn-yellow at base; legs slate-grey, often variably and irregularly blotched pale pink. Differs from S. demersus and S. magellanicus in having large pink area at bill base, from latter also by lack of blackish collar and in having more blackish marks on underside of flipper. Sexes alike in plumage. Juvenile slate-coloured to brownish above, lacking sharply defined pattern on head and pectoral area, anterior face around bill base initially covered with short brownish feathers, becoming progressively bare, pale pink, which often continues narrowly around base of culmen, rest of face whitish with diffusely darker area below and behind eye, or slightly paler brownish than upperparts with whitish area restricted to rear face and throat; underparts creamy white, diffuse greyish-brown wash on neck (at least sides) forming complete obscure band, eyes paler than adult’s, bill often dark grey with weaker pale marks.

• Humboldt x Magellanic Penguin (hybrid) Spheniscus humboldti x magellanicus

Coasts of Chile and Peru, in region of Humboldt Current.

Marine. Nests on islands and on rocky stretches of mainland coast, especially in areas with cliffs and sea caves. Favours islands with guano deposits, in which it excavates its nest burrows. Forages inshore.

Little known. Formerly thought to be more or less sedentary, remaining at or near colonies all year. Satellite-tracking study of birds in N Chile in 1996 revealed movements of up to at least 640 km N from breeding site during austral winter (2 Culik, B. M. and Luna-Jorquera, G. (1997). The Humboldt Spheniscus humboldti penguin: a migratory bird? Journal of Ornithology. 138(3): 325–330. Close ). Vagrant in Ecuador and Colombia. Rare records on W coast of North America, mainly between British Columbia and Washington, exceptionally Alaska, have been attributed to birds released by fishing boats (3 Van Buren, A. N. and Boersma, P. D. (2007). Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in the Northern Hemisphere. Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 119(2): 284–288. Close , 4 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ).

Mainly pelagic schooling fish and squid, also crustaceans in varying amounts; length range of prey 36–270 mm. Main prey species include Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens), Chilean silverside (Odontesthes regia) and garfish (Scomberesox). In study in Chile, penguins at colony in N (Pan de Azúcar I) fed mainly on garfish, whereas diet of those in S (Puñihuil) consisted primarily of anchoveta, silverside and also Araucanian herring (Clupea bentincki) (5 Herling, C., Culik, B. M. and Hennicke, J. C. (2005). Diet of the Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) in northern and southern Chile. Marine Biology. 147(1): 13–25. DOI 10.1007/s00227-004-1547-8. Close ). Catches prey by pursuit-dives, mostly to shallow depths within 30 m of surface. Most foraging done diurnally. In one study of foraging behaviour during chick-rearing period, males and females made overnight trips from colony with mean duration of 25·8 hours and day trips with mean of 10·4 hours, overnight trips more frequent (68·2% of total) and related to much greater amount of foraging time; males had greater maximum dive depths than females, but sexes did not differ in proportions of day and overnight trips made, nor in foraging time and foraging effort (6 Taylor, S. S., Leonard, M. L., Boness, D. J. and Majluf, P. (2002). Foraging by Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) during the chick-rearing period: general patterns, sex differences, and recommendations to reduce incidental catches in fishing nets. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 80: 700–707. Close ).

Series of short loud braying notes. Contact call a somewhat protracted hoarse note.

Colonial, normally in small colonies. Nest situated in hole or burrow dug typically in guano deposits mostly by male, sometimes in natural crevice among boulders or in sea cave, occasionally in more open site if protected from terrestrial predators; a lining of feathers often added; artificial concrete nests may be accepted. Clutch two eggs; incubation by both sexes, period c. 40 days; downy chick brownish-grey with paler underparts, second down  dark brown-grey above and broadly on foreneck, whitish on rear face, throat and abdomen; fledging occurs c. 4 months after laying . Nesting has been recorded throughout year. In C Chile there are two main nesting events, between Aug and Jan (spring) and another in Apr–Jun (autumn) (8 Simeone, A., Araya, B., Bernal, M., Diebold, E. N., Grzybowski, K., Michaels, M., Teare, J. A., Wallace, R. S. and Willis, M. J. (2002). Oceanographic and climatic factors influencing breeding and colony attendance patterns of Humboldt penguins Spheniscus humboldti in central Chile. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 227: 43–50. Close ). Study at Punta San Juan, Peru (7 Paredes, R., Zavalaga, C. B. and Boness, D. J. (2002). Patterns of egg laying and breeding success in Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) at Punta San Juan, Peru. Auk. 119(1): 244–250. Close ), found that egg-laying extends from mid Mar to early Dec, with well-defined peaks in Apr and Aug–Sept; c. 50% of females laid two clutches, chiefly of two eggs, each year, those laying their first eggs early in Apr being the most productive. Mean breeding output per pair over a three-year period was 4.54 fledglings. At colony in C Chile, spring breeding regularly produced offspring, whereas autumn nests were often deserted because of rains, and during 1997–1998 El Niño episode number of breeding pairs was 55–85% lower than average, the start of nesting was delayed and nests were flooded by abnormally heavy rainfall (8 Simeone, A., Araya, B., Bernal, M., Diebold, E. N., Grzybowski, K., Michaels, M., Teare, J. A., Wallace, R. S. and Willis, M. J. (2002). Oceanographic and climatic factors influencing breeding and colony attendance patterns of Humboldt penguins Spheniscus humboldti in central Chile. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 227: 43–50. Close ). Longevity up to 26 years. It is suggested that having as many clutches as possible when conditions are favourable allows this species to maximize its lifetime reproductive success within a productive but unpredictable environment (7 Paredes, R., Zavalaga, C. B. and Boness, D. J. (2002). Patterns of egg laying and breeding success in Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) at Punta San Juan, Peru. Auk. 119(1): 244–250. Close ). 

VULNERABLE. CITES I. Global population uncertain; estimated at 3300–12,000 individuals at end of 20th century, but at least 30,000 individuals were estimated in 2003/4, suggesting earlier figure was too low. In 2014, global population estimated at 37,000–60,000 birds distributed in at least 73 colonies between Foca I in N Perú and Metalqui I in S Chile (9 Vianna, J.L., Cortes, M., Ramos, B., Sallaberry-Pincheira, N., González-Acuña, D., Dantas, G.P.M., Morgante, J., Simeone, A. and Luna-Jorquera, G. (2014). Changes in abundance and distribution of Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti. Marine Ornithology. 42(2): 153- 159. Close ). As reported by BirdLife, experiences extreme fluctuations in population at major colonies in Chile, but overall reduction in number of breeding colonies indicates likelihood of a continuing rapid underlying decline in numbers. Has been in general decline since mid-19th century, but 1982–1983 El Niño Southern Oscillation reduced population from 19,000–21,000 individuals to estimated 5180–6080; by 1995–1996 population had risen to 10,000–12,000, but 1997–1998 El Niño event (the worst in 20th century) resulted in reduction to 3300 individuals. Number of colonies in Peru fell from 17 in 1981 to two in 1996, recovering to six by 1999, and in 2000 78% of total Peruvian population (4425 birds) was contained in just five colonies (10 Paredes, R., Zavalaga, C. B., Battistini, G., Majluf, P. and McGill, P. (2003). Status of the Humboldt Penguin in Peru, 1999-2553553553. Waterbirds. 26(2): 129–256. Close ); survey in 2004 produced total of c. 5000 individuals at 21 sites, 16 of them considered breeding sites, just six of which held > 200 birds. Size and distribution of colonies in Peru changed considerably in 1984–1999, with proportionately fewer in N & C coastal areas and more in S in 1999 (10 Paredes, R., Zavalaga, C. B., Battistini, G., Majluf, P. and McGill, P. (2003). Status of the Humboldt Penguin in Peru, 1999-2553553553. Waterbirds. 26(2): 129–256. Close ). A previously overlooked colony at I Santa Rosa, S Peru, hosted c. 3500–4000 breeding birds in 2011– 2012 (11 Zavalaga, C.B. and Alfaro-Shigueto, J. (2015). Unveiling an important Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) breeding colony in Perú and the need for its protection against the potential impact of guano harvest. Waterbirds. 38(3): 302–307. Close ). In Chile, breeding recorded at 14 localities in tpast, but surveys in 2002 reported nesting on only nine islands, and total of 9000 pairs, majority of which (7000) on Isla Chañaral (29° 02’ S). It is apparent that Chilean population has been under-estimated in past as a census on Isla Chañaral  in Feb 2003 found an estimated 22,000 adults, 3600 chicks and 117 juveniles (12 Mattern, T., Ellenberg, U., Luna-Jorquera, G. and Davis, L. S. (2004). Humboldt Penguin census on Isla Chañaral, Chile: recent increase or past underestimate of penguin numbers? Waterbirds. 27(3): 368–376. Close ). Counts of moulting birds in N and C Chile during 1999–2008 suggest a relatively stable population of over 33,000 birds on average (13 Wallace, R.S. and Araya, B. (2015). Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti population in Chile: counts of moulting birds, February 1999–21131138. Marine Ornithology. 43(1): 107–112. Close ). Main threats appear to be entanglement in fishing nets, which cause considerable mortality each year: setting nets deeper than 30 m and avoiding nocturnal netting where penguins occur would reduce this threat considerably (6 Taylor, S. S., Leonard, M. L., Boness, D. J. and Majluf, P. (2002). Foraging by Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) during the chick-rearing period: general patterns, sex differences, and recommendations to reduce incidental catches in fishing nets. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 80: 700–707. Close ). Also suffers from illegal capture of birds for food and for the pet trade and collections (including zoos). Historically, collecting of guano at traditional nesting sites rendered many of these less suitable, resulting in reduced breeding success; guano still harvested in Peru, probably limiting availability of preferred nesting habitat. El Niño events (apparently increasing in frequency) cause wide fluctuations in numbers, and more recent underlying declines believed to be linked to overfishing of anchoveta stocks. Among other threats are human disturbance, predation by Andean foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus), rats (Rattus) and cats, and marine pollution, as well as mining activities and use of explosives by fishermen. In addition, some penguins are captured for use as fish bait, and egg-collecting is problem in some areas. One of this species’ main breeding sites in N Chile is apparently threatened by construction of two coal-fired power stations, but many breeding sites protected. Continued monitoring of numbers recommended.