Southern rockhopper penguin Southern rockhopper penguin The southern rockhopper penguin group ("Eudyptes chrysocome"), are two subspecies of rockhopper penguin, that together are sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America. This is the smallest yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin in the genus "Eudyptes". It reaches a length of and typically weighs , although there are records of exceptionally large rockhoppers weighing . It has slate-grey upper parts and has straight, bright yellow eyebrows ending in long yellowish plumes projecting sideways behind a red
Northern rockhopper penguin drop in the population at Gough Island has been described as equivalent to the loss of 100 birds every day since the 1950s. A study published in 2009 showed that the world population of the northern rockhopper had declined by 90% since the 1950s, possibly because of climate change, changes in marine ecosystems and overfishing for squid and octopus by humans. Other possible factors in the decline include disturbance and pollution from ecotourism and fishing, egg-harvesting, and predation and competition from subantarctic fur seals ("Arctocephalus tropicalis"). Surveys show that the birds are at risk of infection by goose barnacles. House