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Effects of Climate and Habitat
The average fairy penguin or little blue penguin measures around 16 inches and weighs little more than 2 lbs. According to Bergmann's Rule, a scientific principle comparing effects of external temperature to body size, fairy penguins evolved as small animals because of the warm climate. Little blue penguins reside and breed in burrows or natural crevices found along the rocky coast. They readily adopt any fabricated nests found in habitat restoration. Near human environments, they may nest under buildings, woodpiles or even near railroad tracks.
Diet and Feeding
Fairy penguins feed by hunting and diving in the waters along coastal shores. They feed on a variety of small surface fish such as anchovies, squid and small octopi, consuming the prey whole. An average dive is 32 to 65 feet with records up to nearly 200 feet. From the ocean floor, fairy penguins consume crustaceans, crab larvae and sea horses. The penguins stay within 15 miles of the coast and hunt areas up to 45 miles daily, although scientists recorded long winter-feeding excursions of 470 miles in one day. The longer parents stay away from the nest, the greater risks chicks face with starving or predators.
Physical Characteristics
A penguin's body tapers at both ends, naturally streamlined for swimming. Webbed feet and wedge-shaped tail set far back on the body give fairy penguins super mobility. Water is much denser than air; therefore strong wings and breast muscles develop in all penguins. Wing bones develop broad and flat, creating a tapered flipper for swimming rather than flying. Preening the stiff, bristly feathers with oil from glands near at the tail waterproofs the fairy penguin's body. Colored against air and ocean predators, the dorsal plumage is bluish grey with a bright white underbelly. Rearward spines in the mouth aid in swallowing live prey.
Breeding
As with all smaller species of penguins, breeding begins around 3 years of age for the fairy penguin. A pair forms a burrow in sand, soil or rock crevices usually on offshore islands. Females lay two eggs each season, which lasts from September to November. Both fairy penguins take turns incubating for up to 36 days, when the chicks begin hatching. At dusk, parents return to feed their young in small groups as defense against predators. After five to eight weeks, parents force their chicks from the nest. The fledglings instinctively know how to swim and fend for themselves.
Threats
The average lifespan of fairy penguins is six to six-and-one-half years. Although not endangered, natural prey and human influence affect the penguin's success rate. They rely on a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid such predators as: sea eagles, gulls, swamp harriers, rats, peregrines, lizards and snakes. Predators in coastal waters include sharks, seals and killer whales. Introduced by humans, feral dogs, cats and stoats --- a type of weasel --- feed on eggs and chicks. Parents that cross the coastal roads at night to reach their burrows are subject to speeding cars. Pollution and gill-net fishing lead to the death of some fairy penguins.