Honestly, who doesn’t love a penguin (no, not the chocolaty treat…though I do love to p p pick up a penguin)?

All but one species of penguin lives in the southern hemisphere (the exception is the Galápagos penguin), where they spend almost all of their lives swimming in the ocean.

There are six genera of penguins currently in existence, all with names that mark some sort of identifying feature. King and emperor penguins, for example, belong to the genus ‘great penguins’ while the little and Australian little penguin penguins belong to the ‘little penguin’ genus.

For World Penguin Day, let’s take a closer look at the fabulous crested penguin genus.

Fiordland Crested Penguin

Also known as tawaki or pokotiwha (Māori), fiordland crested penguins are endemic to New Zealand, principally in the Fiordland area, but also on Stewart Island.

Between July and November, they nest in small colonies in among the roots of the coastal forests and shrubland, in sea caves, and sometimes under rock boulders.

If you’re lucky enough to be in New Zealand and want to spot some, please do so responsibly. They are timid and can be disrupted easily, so don’t approach the birds or their nests.

Snares Penguin

Another New Zealand penguin, this time found on Snares Islands. Like Fiordland penguins, snares penguins like to nest in forests, though they can also be spotted on coastal rocks. Apparently snares penguins are quite the vocalists and can be heard hissing, braying, and trumpeting from quite far away

Erect-crested penguin

You might be wondering if we’re leaving New Zealand with this penguin. Well, the answer is… no. Erect-crested penguins breed on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands, though some have been spotted as far away as the Falklands. They don’t mind sharing their colonies with other species, like rockhopper penguins or Salvin’s albatrosses.

Southern Rockhopper Penguin

Reaching lengths of just 58 centimetres, southern rockhoppers are the smallest of the crested penguins. They can be found in the subantarctic Pacific and Indian oceans, and around Patagonia and the Falkland Islands… oh and of course New Zealand’s offshore islands. These penguins do live up to their name, and can be spotted hopping over boulders and across cracks.

Northern Rockhopper Penguin

So there’s a bit of debate about whether the northern rockhopper and southern rockhopper really are two different species, but today let’s side with them being distinct.

Northern rockhoppers are found in the southern Indian and Atlantic oceans, and almost entirely breed just on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island.

Macaroni Penguin

These penguins are pretty widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. You’ll find them in the Subantarctic and Antarctic Peninsula, southern Chile, the Falklands, South Georgia, South Sandwich, and South Orkney Islands, and have been spotted foraging off Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and southern Brazil!

Royal Penguin

Fancy a bit more penguin taxonomy controversy?

Some taxonomists argue royal penguins might actually be a subspecies of the macaroni penguin. Others point out that not only do royal penguins look quite different from macaroni penguins, royal penguins only breed on Macquarie Island. Maybe one day genetic analysis will settle the debate.

In other news, back in the late 1800s, these penguins (and others) were hunted for oil. The industry got so big that a penguin processing plant was actually built on Macquarie Island.