Northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi), Amsterdam Island.
Image: Antoine Lamielle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- EN · Endangered
- Animal group
- Birds
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2020 global assessment of Eudyptes moseleyi says EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The northern rockhopper penguin is a small crested penguin with spiky yellow head plumes, found on a few remote islands. It is assessed as Endangered.
Much of the world population breeds on the Tristan da Cunha group.
Range & habitat
A few remote islands in the South Atlantic and southern Indian Oceans.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Changes in food supply
- Ocean change
- Past exploitation and disturbance
Why it matters
A crested penguin concentrated on a handful of remote islands, the northern rockhopper is a barometer for the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean ecosystems.
Gallery
Northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi); this individual is in a zoo.
Image: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Northern Rockhopper Penguin
- IUCN Red List — look up Northern Rockhopper Penguin (authoritative status)
- BirdLife International