Fiordland Penguin vs Snares Penguin
Fiordland Penguins and Snares Penguins are both Eudyptes — same evolutionary sketchbook, different finished drawings in size (71 cm vs 61 cm) and range. Fiordland Penguin: Fiordland Penguins look like crested rock specialists until they vanish into wet forest. Tawaki survive by being hard to reach and harder to read. Snares Penguin: The Snares Penguin is what happens when an entire species bets on one remote island group staying dependable for a very long time. Start with the table, then read what the gaps between those rows actually cost.
Fiordland Penguin
Snares Penguin
Size Comparison
Fiordland Penguin
51-71 cm
2.7-5.9 kg
Snares Penguin
51-61 cm
2.5-4 kg
| Feature | Fiordland Penguin | Snares Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation | Vulnerable | Vulnerable |
| Scientific Name | Eudyptes pachyrhynchus | Eudyptes robustus |
| Height | 51-71 cm | 51-61 cm |
| Weight | 2.7-5.9 kg | 2.5-4 kg |
| Lifespan | 10-20 years | 15-20 years |
| Population | ~6,250 mature individuals | ~25,000 breeding pairs |
| Diet | Squid, Crustaceans, Small fish | Krill, Squid, Small fish |
| Habitat | Temperate rainforest, Rocky coastlines, Dense vegetation | Sub-Antarctic islands, Rocky shores, Olearia forest |
| Regions | New Zealand (South Island), Stewart Island | Snares Islands (New Zealand) |
| Genus | Eudyptes | Eudyptes |
Conservation Status
Fiordland Penguin
VulnerableSnares Penguin
VulnerableScientific Name
Fiordland Penguin
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
Snares Penguin
Eudyptes robustus
Height
Fiordland Penguin
51-71 cm
Snares Penguin
51-61 cm
Weight
Fiordland Penguin
2.7-5.9 kg
Snares Penguin
2.5-4 kg
Lifespan
Fiordland Penguin
10-20 years
Snares Penguin
15-20 years
Population
Fiordland Penguin
~6,250 mature individuals
Snares Penguin
~25,000 breeding pairs
Diet
Fiordland Penguin
Squid, Crustaceans, Small fish
Snares Penguin
Krill, Squid, Small fish
Habitat
Fiordland Penguin
Temperate rainforest, Rocky coastlines, Dense vegetation
Snares Penguin
Sub-Antarctic islands, Rocky shores, Olearia forest
Regions
Fiordland Penguin
New Zealand (South Island), Stewart Island
Snares Penguin
Snares Islands (New Zealand)
Genus
Fiordland Penguin
Eudyptes
Snares Penguin
Eudyptes
Key Differences
Not a second table — the reasons the numbers diverge.
Survival problem
Fiordland Penguin: They must move between rough surf and concealed forest nests while staying hidden from predators and human disturbance in a very narrow breeding window. Snares Penguin: Its breeding range is tiny, so any sustained change in nearby food supply, disease, or island conditions matters at species scale almost immediately. Those two sentences are the comparison’s spine — stats only make sense if they map back to the problem each bird is actually solving.
Size and mass
The Fiordland Penguin is only slightly taller on average — up to 71 cm and 5.9 kg against the Snares Penguin's 61 cm and 4 kg. That gap changes dive physics, fasting capacity, and how each bird spends energy on land and at sea.
Habitat logic
Fiordland Penguins use temperate rainforest, rocky coastlines, and dense vegetation; Snares Penguins use sub-antarctic islands, rocky shores, and olearia forest. There is little shared nesting or haul-out habitat between them. Habitat here is architecture, not scenery: shelter, predators, and access to prey decide who can breed successfully.
Separate ranges
Fiordland Penguins live in New Zealand (South Island) and Stewart Island; Snares Penguins live in Snares Islands (New Zealand). Non-overlapping ranges usually mean different currents, predator guilds, and fisheries pressure — which is why conservation headlines for one rarely transfer cleanly to the other.
What they hunt
Fiordland Penguins eat squid, crustaceans, and small fish; Snares Penguins eat krill, squid, and small fish. Distinct items on each list (crustaceans versus krill) hint at different dive depths and foraging schedules. Both still lean on squid and small fish, so ocean productivity swings can hit them together.
Dive depth
The Snares Penguin reaches 120 m — nearly twice the Fiordland Penguin's 60 m. Depth buys access to prey that shallower divers never reach, and it is paid for in oxygen storage, muscle chemistry, and the time each foraging trip takes.
Abundance
There are roughly 8.0 times as many Snares Penguins as Fiordland Penguins — ~25,000 breeding pairs against ~6,250 mature individuals. Rarity is not the same as risk, but it sets how little has to go wrong before a decline becomes irreversible.
Shared risk band
Both sit at IUCN Vulnerable. Estimated numbers still differ — ~6,250 mature individuals for the Fiordland Penguin versus ~25,000 breeding pairs for the Snares Penguin. Even under the same IUCN label, trends differ: Fiordland Penguins are tracked as decreasing, while Snares Penguins are stable. A shared status means comparable risk class, not identical causes.
Key Similarities
Shared genus: Eudyptes
Both belong to Eudyptes, so they inherit a related body plan and many of the same physiological constraints. Related does not mean interchangeable — size, range, and breeding rules still split them — but it explains why field marks and moult timing can look related even when habitats diverge.
Overlapping prey
They both take squid and small fish. Shared prey is a coupling: a krill or forage-fish crash can stress both populations even when colonies sit far apart.
Both Vulnerable
IUCN places both at Vulnerable. Treat that as a risk band, not a single storyline: the Fiordland Penguin and Snares Penguin can share a label while failing for different local reasons.
How to read this matchup
Read this pair as one lineage under two constraints. The Fiordland Penguin shows the bigger expression of the Eudyptes plan; the Snares Penguin shows how far that plan can shrink or specialise. When risk differs, follow the Fiordland Penguin for pressure and the Snares Penguin for what a related bird still manages with more margin.
About Each Species
Fiordland Penguin
Fiordland Penguins look like crested rock specialists until they vanish into wet forest. Tawaki survive by being hard to reach and harder to read.
Also known as Tawaki, this elusive yellow-crested penguin nests in dense temperate rainforests along New Zealand's Fiordland coast — one of the few penguins to breed in forest environments.
Full Fiordland Penguin profileSnares Penguin
The Snares Penguin is what happens when an entire species bets on one remote island group staying dependable for a very long time.
Endemic to the tiny Snares Islands south of New Zealand, this yellow-crested penguin has the most restricted range of any penguin species, yet maintains a healthy population thanks to the absence of introduced predators.
Full Snares Penguin profileFrequently Asked Questions
Which is bigger, the Fiordland Penguin or the Snares Penguin?
The Fiordland Penguin is larger — up to 71 cm and 5.9 kg — while the Snares Penguin reaches about 61 cm and 4 kg.
Are Fiordland Penguins or Snares Penguins more endangered?
Both are listed as Vulnerable. Numbers still differ: ~6,250 mature individuals for the Fiordland Penguin versus ~25,000 breeding pairs for the Snares Penguin. Trends: decreasing vs stable.
Do Fiordland Penguins and Snares Penguins live in the same place?
No meaningful range overlap. Fiordland Penguins: New Zealand (South Island) and Stewart Island. Snares Penguins: Snares Islands (New Zealand).
What do Fiordland Penguins and Snares Penguins eat?
Both take squid and small fish. Full lists: squid, crustaceans, and small fish for the Fiordland Penguin; krill, squid, and small fish for the Snares Penguin.
What is the biggest survival difference between Fiordland Penguins and Snares Penguins?
Fiordland Penguin: They must move between rough surf and concealed forest nests while staying hidden from predators and human disturbance in a very narrow breeding window. Snares Penguin: Its breeding range is tiny, so any sustained change in nearby food supply, disease, or island conditions matters at species scale almost immediately.
Are Fiordland Penguins and Snares Penguins closely related?
Yes — both are genus Eudyptes within Spheniscidae, so they share a relatively recent common ancestor and related anatomy, even when range and size diverge.