Rockhopper penguin positions and islands became surrounded by subtropical water masses, resulting in a split between Northern and Southern rockhopper penguins. Many advance and retreat cycles of Patagonian icecaps during the late Pleistocene may have created a barrier to gene flow between Southern Pacific and Southern Atlantic populations, causing a split between Southern and Eastern rockhopper populations. Adult Rockhopper penguins have no land-based predators. They are eaten when at sea by leopard seals, fur seals, killer whales and blue sharks. Chicks and eggs are eaten by many birds including giant petrels, skuas, sheathbills and various types of gulls. Although the rockhopper penguin
Bird flight Bird flight Bird flight is the primary mode of locomotion used by most bird species in which birds take off and fly. Flight assists birds while feeding, breeding, avoiding predators, and migrating. Bird flight is one of the most complex forms of locomotion in the animal kingdom. Each facet of this type of motion, including hovering, taking off, and landing, involves many complex movements. As different bird species have adapted to specific environments, prey, predators, and other needs, they have developed varied forms of wings and varied forms of flight. Research into how birds fly has yielded various theories as