8 thoughts on “Eastern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes filholi)”
In view of the separation of the Eastern and Southern Rockhopper Penguin and the observed population developments I fully support the new classification as vulnerable.
The citation for Heard Island 2003/04 is Woehler EJ 2006.
I recently reviewed all records of vagrant penguins to Tasmania for the period 1990 to 2025, including both Northern and Eastern Rockhpper Penguins. The review is in press with Marine Ornithology (Woehler 2026), and builds on an earlier synthesis published in 1992 that collated all records to 1990 (Woehler 1992). The 2026 synthesis suggests an increase in the frequency of vagrant Eastern Rockhopper Penguins (and other species of crested penguin) to Tasmania since 1990, suggesting a more nuanced response by these species to rising Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) over the period that had been predicted in other studies.
The range maps for Northern and Eastern Rockhopper Penguins should reflect their regular occurrences around Australia, including Tasmania.
I note also that there are records of Rockhopper Penguins from New Zealand that would require revision of the range map, at least for Eastern Rockhopper Penguins. It may be worth consulting Mattern + Wilson 2018 for additional records and material for New Zealand.
I concur with Klemens that the species warrants uplisting based on y knowledge/research on Heard Island.
Woehler EJ 2006. Status and conservation of the seabirds of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands. In: Green K, Woehler EJ (eds) Heard Island, Southern Ocean Sentinel. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 128-165.
Woehler EJ 2026. Tasmanian records of vagrant penguins, 1991 – 2025. Marine Ornithology in press. Available on request.
I fully support the listings of both Eastern Rockhopper Penguins and Southern Rockhopper Penguin’s as being vulnerable, especially in light of species reclassification.
please add the following reference: Dakwa, F.E. 2022. Influence of ecosystem variability on the demography and reproductive performance of two Eudyptes penguins, Macaroni and Eastern Rockhopper Penguins, at sub-Antarctic Marion Island, 1994–2019. . ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37072
and add Dakwa 2022, after Dakwa refence on the text
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 2 February 2026. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 2 February 2026, when discussions will re-open.
We thank Klemens Puetz, Dr Eric J. Woehler, Theresa Cole and Azwianewi Makhado for their contributions. In conjunction with the IUCN Species Survival Commission Penguin Specialist Group we will follow up on the literature to be included in the final Red List assessment, which contains more detail than is possible here. We will extend the non-breeding distribution closer to Australia and New Zealand and consult on the correct division of regular non-breeding occurrence versus vagrancy (which is not mapped as part of the species’ range).
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2026 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 8 February 2026, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2026 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites later in 2026, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 16 February 2026.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Eastern Rockhopper Penguin is recommended to be listed as Vulnerable under Criteria A2bce+3bce+4bce.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the 2026.1 GTB Forum process. The final Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites later this year, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
In view of the separation of the Eastern and Southern Rockhopper Penguin and the observed population developments I fully support the new classification as vulnerable.
The citation for Heard Island 2003/04 is Woehler EJ 2006.
I recently reviewed all records of vagrant penguins to Tasmania for the period 1990 to 2025, including both Northern and Eastern Rockhpper Penguins. The review is in press with Marine Ornithology (Woehler 2026), and builds on an earlier synthesis published in 1992 that collated all records to 1990 (Woehler 1992). The 2026 synthesis suggests an increase in the frequency of vagrant Eastern Rockhopper Penguins (and other species of crested penguin) to Tasmania since 1990, suggesting a more nuanced response by these species to rising Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) over the period that had been predicted in other studies.
The range maps for Northern and Eastern Rockhopper Penguins should reflect their regular occurrences around Australia, including Tasmania.
I note also that there are records of Rockhopper Penguins from New Zealand that would require revision of the range map, at least for Eastern Rockhopper Penguins. It may be worth consulting Mattern + Wilson 2018 for additional records and material for New Zealand.
I concur with Klemens that the species warrants uplisting based on y knowledge/research on Heard Island.
Mattern T, Wilson KJ 2018. New Zealand penguins- current knowledge and research priorities. Report to Birds New Zealand, 170 pp. https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1904-NZ-PenguinResearch-Priorities-Report-Mattern-Wilson.pdf
Woehler EJ 1992. Records of vagrant penguins from Tasmania. Marine Ornithology 20, 61-73. http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/20/MO_1992_07.pdf
Woehler EJ 2006. Status and conservation of the seabirds of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands. In: Green K, Woehler EJ (eds) Heard Island, Southern Ocean Sentinel. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 128-165.
Woehler EJ 2026. Tasmanian records of vagrant penguins, 1991 – 2025. Marine Ornithology in press. Available on request.
I fully support the listings of both Eastern Rockhopper Penguins and Southern Rockhopper Penguin’s as being vulnerable, especially in light of species reclassification.
please add the following reference: Dakwa, F.E. 2022. Influence of ecosystem variability on the demography and reproductive performance of two Eudyptes penguins, Macaroni and Eastern Rockhopper Penguins, at sub-Antarctic Marion Island, 1994–2019. . ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37072
and add Dakwa 2022, after Dakwa refence on the text
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 2 February 2026. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 2 February 2026, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary proposal
We thank Klemens Puetz, Dr Eric J. Woehler, Theresa Cole and Azwianewi Makhado for their contributions. In conjunction with the IUCN Species Survival Commission Penguin Specialist Group we will follow up on the literature to be included in the final Red List assessment, which contains more detail than is possible here. We will extend the non-breeding distribution closer to Australia and New Zealand and consult on the correct division of regular non-breeding occurrence versus vagrancy (which is not mapped as part of the species’ range).
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2026 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 8 February 2026, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2026 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites later in 2026, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 16 February 2026.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Eastern Rockhopper Penguin is recommended to be listed as Vulnerable under Criteria A2bce+3bce+4bce.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the 2026.1 GTB Forum process. The final Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites later this year, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.