Life History
Like other penguin species, the Macaroni Penguin is a social animal in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; its breeding colonies are among the largest and most densely populated of all penguin species. Outside the breeding season, the penguin is pelagic; birds disperse to sea from April or May until October. A 2009 study by a French team led by scientist Charles Andre Bost found that Macaroni Penguins nesting at Kerguelen dispersed eastwards over an area exceeding 3×106 km2. Fitted with geolocation sensors, the 12 penguins studied travelled over 10,000 km (6,200 mi) in this period and spent their time largely within a zone 47–49° S and 70–110° E in the central Indian Ocean, not coming ashore once. This area, known as the Polar Frontal Zone, was notable for the absence of krill.
Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual as well as vocal displays. These behaviours peak early in the breeding period, and colonies particularly quieten when the male Macaroni Penguins are at sea. Agonistic displays are those which are intended to confront or drive off, or alternatively, appease and avoid conflict with other individuals. Macaroni Penguins, particularly those on adjacent nests, may engage in bill-jousting; birds lock bills and wrestle, each trying to unseat the other, as well as batter with flippers and peck or strike their opponent's nape. Submissive displays include the slender walk, where birds move through the colony with feathers flattened, flippers moved to the front of the body, and head and neck hunched, and general hunching of head and neck when incubating or standing at the nest.
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