Little Penguins Exploring the life of the world's smallest penguin

The Little Penguin, Blue Penguin or Fairy Penguin ... whichever name you give it, this fascinating bird lives an extraordinary life. It is the world’ s smallest penguin species, found all around the coasts of New Zealand and the southern half of Australia, often in the vicinity of major towns and cities. This beautifully illustrated book explores every aspect of the lives of these remarkable seabirds, from feeding and breeding to migrations and threats. The entertaining and informative text is accompanied by many beautiful photographs which illustrate the lives of these much-loved birds.

Ken Stepnell grew up on a farm at Buninyong near Ballarat. His love of photography started when his parents gave him a box camera for his ninth birthday. Since then, Ken has become a renowned photographer, particularly in Australian landscapes and natural history. He is a multiple winner of the coveted Hasselblad Masters Award for Nature photography, and his images have been published in various books for more than 40 years. Always on the lookout for a new challenge, Ken turned his attention to more man-made subjects, and decided to create the first photographic collection of Australia collect

Introduction 9 The penguin family 11 The smallest penguin 15 How many species? 17 Vital statistics 19 Dimensions 20 Structure 21 Plumage 22 Flippers 25 Bare parts 29 Eyesight 31 Other adaptations 33 The lives of Little Penguins 35 Feeding time 36 Travelling further afield 41 Moulting 45 Contents The mating game 49 Nest-building 50 Courtship 52 Eggs 53 Raising young 62 The noisiest penguin 69 Growing up 71 Threats and conservation 79 Natural predators 80 Introduced predators 81 Threats from humans 82 Conservation and the future 89 Where to watch Little Penguins 93 Victoria 96 Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands 100 Western Australia 101 New South Wales 104 South Australia 104 New Zealand 105 Image Credits 110 Index 112