Eastern rockhopper penguin

How it lives

Breeding starts in October, when males arrive first. Eggs are laid around November, and chicks leave the nest about 65 days after hatching, around February. Colonies are often on steep slopes near the sea, with nests among and under boulders. Parents take turns incubating and feeding. Chicks gather in groups called creches when they are about 24 days old.

Where it goes

Eastern rockhoppers breed on subantarctic islands in the southern Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Prince Edward Islands to the Antipodes Islands, including Macquarie Island. Colonies sit on steep slopes near the sea. I did not find a clear account of where birds go outside the breeding season. Records on mainland New Zealand are extremely rare, with only four documented between 2017 and 2024, and experts have noted more stray birds reaching Tasmania.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

The IUCN Red List record I read lists the species as Not Evaluated. In early 2026 BirdLife and the IUCN penguin specialists recommended Vulnerable for the 2026 Red List, after the eastern and southern rockhoppers were treated as separate species; I could not confirm the final listing. In New Zealand it is classed as Nationally Vulnerable. Campbell Island fell from about 800,000 breeding pairs in 1942 to 33,200 in 2012, and Auckland and Antipodes Islands each hold fewer than 3,000 pairs. One summary page gives about 1.6 million breeding pairs overall and a falling trend, but I did not find the primary count.