• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Banks, J., Van Buren, A., Cherel, Y., & Whitfield, J. B. 2006. Genetic evidence for three species of Rockhopper Penguins Eudyptes chrysocome. Polar Biology 30(1): 61-67.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2acde+3cde+4acde	A2acde+3cde+4acde; B2ab(v)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2018	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2016	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2012	Endangered	A2acde+3cde+4acde
2010	Endangered	A2a,c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4a,c,d,e
2008	Endangered	A2a,c,d,e; A3c,d,e; A4a,c,d,e
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,840,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	16,700,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	250 km2	medium
Number of locations	7	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	413700 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	good	estimated	1992-2022
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	51-65%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	35-57%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-60%	-	-	-
Generation length	10 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-

Population justification: The latest estimates suggest a total population of c. 206,850 breeding pairs with the majority of the population (89.7%) being found at the Atlantic Ocean breeding sites (62,791 pairs on Middle/Alex Island in 2016, 64,700 pairs on Gough Island in 2006, 20,423 pairs on Nightingale Island in 2017, 33,867 pairs on Inaccessible Island in  2016, 3584 pairs on Tristan da Cunha islands in 2015) and 10.3% at the Indian Ocean islands (12,161 pairs on Amsterdam Island in 2015, 7,580 pairs on St Paul Island in 2018) (RZSS, BAS, CEBC-CNRS, RSPB, TAAF, TCD 2018).

Overall, recent analysis of population trends indicates that over the previous 30 years (three generations) the number of Northern Rockhopper Penguins globally declined by 57% (RZSS, BAS, CEBC-CNRS, RSPB, TAAF, TCD 2018).

Early records indicate that millions of Northern Rockhopper Penguins used to occur on both Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island prior to 1955. As a very rough estimate, approximately 2 million pairs (98%) were lost from Gough Island between 1955 and 2006, and Tristan da Cunha is thought to have held hundreds of thousands of pairs in the 1870s, which were reduced to around 5,000 pairs by 1955 (Cuthbert et al. 2009). At Amsterdam Island, numbers have been declining at an average rate of 3.7% since the early 1970s resulting in a 80% decline over the past three generations (Barbraud et al. in revision). On Saint Paul Island, the population has increased at a rate of 1.4% since the early 1970s (Barbraud et al. in revision).

Trend justification: Recent population models indicate that over the previous 30 years (three generations) the number of Northern Rockhopper Penguins globally declined by 57% and suggest an ongoing decline (Birdlife International 2010; 2017, RZSS, BAS, CEBC-CNRS, RSPB, TAAF, TCD 2018). Trends are contrasted at the species' two breeding locations in the Indian Ocean. At St. Paul Island, numbers have been increasing at an average rate of 1.4% since the early 1970s (Barbraud et al. in revision). At Amsterdam Island, numbers have been declining at an average rate of 3.7% since the early 1970s resulting in a 80% decline over the past three generations (Barbraud et al. in revision). At the Atlantic Ocean breeding sites, while numbers in the northern islands are believed to be stable, the population on Gough Island is still in decline (Cuthbert et al. 2009, Robson et al. 2011). Given the magnitude of the previously estimated declines, a repeat of the population models to update the current trend is a high priority action for the species.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	extant	vagrant		yes
French Southern Territories	extant	native	yes	yes
New Zealand	extant	vagrant			yes
South Africa	extant	vagrant			yes
St Helena (to UK)	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
St Helena (to UK)	Gough Island
St Helena (to UK)	Tristan Island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subantarctic	major	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	breeding
Altitude	0 - 170 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Negligible declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sus domesticus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Competition, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Pasteurella multocida	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Northern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes moseleyi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-rockhopper-penguin-eudyptes-moseleyi on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.