Macaroni penguin

The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a crested penguin with golden-orange plumes that start on its forehead and sweep back past its eyes.¹² It stands about 28 in (70 cm) tall and weighs 8.8 to 15.4 lb (4 to 7 kg).³ Yes, it is a real species, and the British Antarctic Survey calls it the most numerous penguin, yet most travelers never see one: it breeds on remote subantarctic islands, and the place cruises reach its colonies is South Georgia, where it outnumbers every other penguin.¹⁵²⁴ The other penguins you meet there have their own pages, the king and the gentoo, and our penguin species guide compares them all.

How many macaroni penguins are there, and where do they live?

About 6.3 million breeding pairs in at least 258 colonies at some 55 sites, by the last global estimate in 2013, which BirdLife International reads as a 47% fall from about 9 million pairs.² BirdLife's 2020 Red List assessment still uses an older count of 12 million mature birds, from 1998.² Five island groups hold most of them:

Of the five, South Georgia is the only one on the voyages we priced. Figures are from BirdLife, the Australian Antarctic Division and the South Georgia government.²³⁴ Falklands Conservation still gives South Georgia more than 3 million, an older figure.¹ Smaller numbers breed in southern Chile, where Diego Ramírez has the largest colony at 15,600 pairs, and on the South Sandwich, South Orkney and South Shetland Islands.² On Zavodovski, in the South Sandwich Islands, macaronis grew 28% from 2011 to 2016 and have held steady since, while occupied chinstrap nests fell 63% by 2025, so the macaroni is now the island's most abundant penguin.⁵⁶

Where can you see macaroni penguins?

At four landing sites on South Georgia. The government's 2025-26 list of authorized visitor sites names a macaroni beach at Cooper Bay, a macaroni landing on the north shore of Hercules Bay, the Rookery Point walk from Cobblers Cove to a macaroni colony, and a small beach beside the macaroni colony in Royal Bay.⁷ None of the four is marked as suitable for ships carrying more than 200 passengers, and the biggest colonies, on the Willis and Welcome islands and Bird Island, are not on the list at all.⁷⁴ Macaronis nest on steep slopes that drop into the sea; in places their claws have scratched marks into the rock.⁴

Away from South Georgia, the odds drop fast. The Falklands have only about 24 pairs, at 12 sites, nesting among rockhoppers; Saunders, Pebble and Bleaker islands are where tourism and cruise sources mention them.^1101118 On the Antarctic Peninsula a small number nest at Hannah Point on Livingston Island, which ships of 200 or fewer may land at, though its guidelines strongly discourage visits from October until mid-January, allow one ship a day after that, and IAATO recorded only 2 landings there in 2025-26; at Half Moon Island counters usually find one or two adults among the chinstraps.¹²¹³¹⁴ Our chinstrap penguin page covers both sites.

When is the best time to see macaroni penguins?

December to February, in the middle of a breeding season that runs from October to March on South Georgia.⁴ Birds arrive in late October and lay about two weeks later.¹⁵ Each female lays two eggs, and the second, bigger egg is usually the only one that hatches; chicks leave at 60 to 70 days.³ In the Falklands, immature and non-breeding birds start to moult from mid-January and all have gone by the end of April, so voyages in late March and April catch the colonies emptying.¹

Which voyages give the best odds of seeing macaroni penguins?

A South Georgia voyage between November and February on a ship of 200 passengers or fewer, which is small enough for every macaroni landing site. Few operators name a colony in their itineraries, and no one publishes a success rate. These are the 2026-27 voyages we found whose itineraries name macaroni penguins at a stop, with their lowest open fares:

Our pick: none of these sails at the peak. The voyages that name South Georgia colonies go in March and April, as the season winds down, and the Falklands ones depend on a handful of pairs.⁴¹ We would take Oceanwide's November 23 Plancius voyage instead, while the birds are on their nests: it spends four days on South Georgia with 108 passengers, so every macaroni site is open to it, though its itinerary does not promise one.²¹²² Its $12,575 fare was for the last men's berth in a shared triple, so it suits a man traveling alone, not a couple.²⁰ Weigh the extra days in is South Georgia worth it.

How close can you get to macaroni penguins?

On South Georgia, never closer than 16 ft (5 m) to wildlife, and at least 33 ft (10 m) from nesting birds, which covers a macaroni colony.⁷ Bird flu has closed sites: the government shut its first one in October 2023 after a mass die-off at Cooper Bay, and 19 were closed at the peak in January 2024.²³ In 2024-25 no site was closed, but expedition leaders aborted 19 landings, at Cooper Bay among other sites, when visitors could not keep away from animals that might carry the virus.²⁴ In the Falklands, stay outside the colony and at least 20 ft (6 m) away.²⁵ For the rules south of 60°S, see our Antarctica visitor rules guide.

Why is it called a macaroni penguin?

After a hairstyle. The British Antarctic Survey says the name comes from the "Macaroni coiffure" of 18th-century dandies; the penguin's version is a pair of orange, tufty plumes for eyebrows.¹⁵ The scientific name means "good diver with a golden crest".³

Is a rockhopper penguin the same as a macaroni penguin?

No. They are separate species of crested penguin that sometimes nest side by side, and in the Falklands they even produce hybrids.¹ The crest is the quickest way to tell them apart:

Sources: Falklands Conservation, the Australian Antarctic Division and BirdLife.¹²⁶³²⁷ Only the macaroni and the royal penguin have crests that meet on the forehead; the royal has a white face, and the two are so alike genetically that BirdLife says their taxonomic status needs a fresh look.² More on the smaller bird on our rockhopper penguin page.

What do macaroni penguins eat, and how long do they live?

Mostly krill, with fish. At South Georgia they rely heavily on Antarctic krill; they can dive deeper than 720 ft (220 m) but usually feed at 50 to 165 ft (15 to 50 m), on trips of a day to three weeks.²³ Fur seals and leopard seals kill adults, and skuas, sheathbills and giant petrels take eggs and chicks.³ Lifespans are not well known: the Australian Antarctic Division estimates 20 years or more, Falklands Conservation 10 to 15 in the wild.³¹

Are macaroni penguins endangered?

Not endangered, but Vulnerable, as they have been on the IUCN Red List since 2000, with a falling population.² South Georgia shows the scale: about 5 million pairs in the 1980s, about 2.7 million in the mid-1990s and over 1 million now, by the South Georgia government's estimate, and the British Antarctic Survey puts the island's loss since the 1980s at 70%.²⁴²⁸ One suspect is competition for krill from Antarctic fur seals, which recovered at South Georgia from an estimated 30,000 over recent decades; climate change and fisheries may also play a part.² How many fur seals there are now is uncertain: the South Georgia government's 2023 figure is about 4 million on the island, while the IUCN's 2026 assessment counts 944,000 mature fur seals worldwide in 2025, less than half its 1999 estimate. The IUCN counts only mature seals, so the two are not directly comparable, but on our reading the older figure is now too high.⁴²⁹ Not every colony is falling: Kerguelen grew from 1962 to 2014 and has held steady since, and Zavodovski's macaronis have grown.²⁵