Little Penguin

The little penguin (Eudyptula minor) is the smallest species of penguin in the world, and originates from New Zealand and Australia. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage, and is also known by its Māori name kororā. It is a marine neritic species that dives for food throughout the day and returns to burrows on the shore at dusk. Eudyptula minor feathers are dense in melanosomes, which increase water resistance and give them their unique blue colour. The Australian little penguin (Eudyptula novaehollandiae), from Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand, was initially described as Spheniscus novaehollandiae in 1826 but was later classified as Eudyptula minor novaehollandiae, a subspecies of the little penguin. Wikipedia →