19 Types of Penguins [+ What Makes Each Unique] - Polar Guidebook (2024)

Emperor Penguins are probably what you typically think of when you imagine a penguin. They are the tallest penguins with an average height of 115cm (45 inches)² (source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of the World, C. M. Perrins) and they live in Antarctica year-round.

Royal Penguins are the largest of the crested penguins standing at 76 cm (30″) tall. They have an orange beak and a crest of regal–looking yellow or orange feathers on their head.

They are endemic to Macquarie Island and nearby Bishop and Clerk Islands which all sit about halfway between Australia and New Zealand.

The Magellanic Penguin can be found in South America on both the Atlantic (east) and Pacific (west) coasts.

They are similar in appearance to an African Penguin, however, it’s still easy to spot them thanks to a unique black band on their stomach and a white band on their head. Their 30-year lifespan makes them the longest-living penguins.

Humboldt Penguins live along the west coast of South America from Peru down to Chile. They are a member of the Spheniscus family, also known as banded penguins.

They have the usual black band on their front side like other banded penguins, but you can distinguish them due to a lot of black spots on their bellies and callous pink skin from the base of their beak up to their eyes.

Fiordland Penguins are found in New Zealand on the South Island as well as nearby islands including Solander Island, Codfish Island, and Stewart Island.

They are a member of the crested penguins and look near-identical to a Snares Penguin, except they don’t have a patch of bare skin around the base of their beak.

The Yellow-Eyed Penguin is endemic to New Zealand, living on the South Island, Stewart Island, and sometimes other nearby islands. It’s the only living member of its family, the Megadyptes Penguins.

They are easy to spot due to their yellow eyes and the yellow band of feathers that runs from one eye, over the top of their head, to the other eye (hence the name). It almost looks like they are wearing a yellow face mask like a burglar.

As you might have guessed from their name, Snares Penguins can be found on The Snares Islands, a small group of islands that lie around 200km south of New Zealand. It is a member of the crested penguins family, as noted from the yellow crest feathers just above its eyes.

They are almost identical to Fiordland penguins, although can be identified due to the patch of bare skin that runs around the base of their beak³ (source: New Zealand Government).

Macaroni Penguins breed in Chile, the Falkland Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula, and many sub-Antarctic islands.

Macaroni Penguins are a member of the crested penguins family with distinctive yellow feathers on their head and an orange beak.

The Galapagos Penguin is the most northerly of all the penguins, living in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, which straddle the equator.

With only around 1,200 left in the wild, they are the smallest in terms of population size and are one of the penguin species classified as endangered by the IUCN.

Erect-Crested Penguins are mostly found on sub-antarctic islands to the southeast of New Zealand.

They have yellow crest feathers that are unique as they stick upwards like a hard brush and they have white or pale blue skin at the base of their beak.

The African Penguin is the only penguin that nests in, you guessed it, Africa. They are found along the southern coast of Namibia and South Africa. They are about average size for a penguin at 70 cm (27″) tall and can be distinguished due to a black stripe and black spots on their chest.

Chinstrap penguins are the smallest of the bushy-tailed penguins, a family known for their long tails. They are easy to notice due to the black ‘Chinstrap’ which runs from ear to ear under their chin, making it look like they have a helmet on.

They live in Antarctica and on sub-Antarctic islands including the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkneys, South Shetland and South Georgia, Bouvet Island and the Balleny Islands.

As the second member of the great penguins family, King Penguins are closely related to Emperor Penguins, only slightly smaller in size at 95 cm (37″) tall (see our penguin size guide here).

You can spot King Penguins because they have orange patches in the feathers on the side of their heads and on their chest. They also have orange patches on their beaks.

They breed on sub-antarctic islands with the largest populations found at South Georgia, Crozet Island, and Kerguelen Island.

Gentoo penguins are considered to be Antarctic penguins as they can sometimes be found on the Antarctic peninsular. They can also be found across sub-antarctic islands with the largest populations on the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

Standing at 81 cm (32″) tall, they are the third largest penguin and can be spotted due to their red-orange beak and the white patch which extends from their eyes over the top of their heads.

Little Penguins are the smallest species of penguin with an average height of just 40 cm (16″) to the tip of their beak⁴ (source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of the World, C. M. Perrins). They are also known as ‘Little Blue Penguins’ for their slightly blue appearance and they live in warmer climates of Australia and New Zealand.