Spheniscus urbinai (SciiFii)

The blade-billed penguin (Spheniscus urbinai) is a species of banded penguin (Spheniscus) that originally lived in Peru and Chile during the Late Miocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern coastlines of Chile and Argentina to help boost biodiversity. The blade-billed penguin is smaller than the emperor penguin or the king penguin, but larger than most other member in the Spheniscus genus. The king penguin stands at 50 to 80 centimeters (19 to 31 inches) tall and weighs from 5.1 to 13 kg (11 to 28 lbs). Although female and male blade-billed penguins are monomorphic they can be separated by their calls. Males are also slightly larger than females. As their names would suggests, the blade-billed penguins have long, thick bills used for catching fish and crustaceans. Blade-billed penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes or caves. The blade-billed penguin feeds predominantly on pelagic schooling fish. The consumption of cephalopods and crustaceans vary between populations. The blade-billed penguin is a visual hunter. Blade-billed penguins leave their islands for foraging after sunrise and different populations have different preferred foraging distances from the colony. Their foraging rhythm depends on the light intensity. They spend more time foraging during overnight trips. Fish are mostly seized from below through short, shallow dives. Failed breeders take longer foraging trips with longer and deeper dives. They also dive less often than breeding penguins. During courtship, the blade-billed penguins bow their heads to each other and exchange mutual glances with each eye, alternatively. In the ecstatic display to attract a partner, the bird extends its head vertically, collapses its chest, flaps its wings and emits a loud call resembling the braying of a donkey. The mutual displaying consist of the pair standing side by side and repeating the actions of the ecstatic display. The blade-billed penguin nests in loose colonies, with most pairs laying two eggs of the same size 4 days apart that require 41 days of incubation. Their breeding schedule is adjusted depending on the abundance of food. They breed immediately after moulting, when food is abundant and solar radiation is reduced. The blade-billed penguin lay eggs from March to December, but also with peaks in April and August–September, due to individuals having a second clutch. Half of the females successfully have two clutches per year and most were double broods. If pairs lose their eggs during the first breeding season, they lay a new clutch within 1–4 months. The incubation shifts last, on average, 2.5 days, before one parent takes over and allows the other to forage. There are no differences in the contribution to provisioning from the male and female parents. Chicks hatch generally 2 days apart. Chicks are semi-altricial and nidicolous and guarded by one parent while the other forages. Chicks are fed only once every day. Chicks are left unattended at the nest site after a certain age and both parents forage simultaneously. The conservation status of the blade-billed penguin is Vulnerable due to some habitat loss and historic poaching, however, thanks to conservationists, the blade-billed penguin is a protected species.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii