Little Blue Penguin

The world’s smallest penguin. Every night at Phillip Island, thousands emerge from the surf in a famous “penguin parade” that draws over a million visitors a year.

Tiny but Mighty

The Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) — also called the Fairy Penguin or Kororā in Māori — stands just 33 centimetres tall and weighs around 1 kg. Its slate-blue dorsal plumage is unique among penguins and gives the species its common name.

Unlike most penguins, Little Blues are nocturnal on land. They spend their days at sea and only return to their burrows after dark, helping them avoid airborne predators like hawks and gulls.

The Penguin Parade

Each evening at dusk, hundreds to thousands of Little Blues emerge from the surf at Phillip Island, Victoria, and waddle in small groups up the beach to their burrow sites. The spectacle — known as the Penguin Parade — has been running as an organised wildlife experience since 1928 and attracts over 500,000 visitors per year.

The penguins wait in the shallows until they feel the safety of numbers, then surge ashore together — a behaviour thought to reduce individual predation risk.

Breeding and Burrows

• Nest in burrows dug into sandy soil, under rocks, or in artificial nest boxes
• Typically raise two chicks per season (one of the few penguin species to reliably fledge two)
• Both parents share incubation (around 36 days) and feeding duties
• Chicks fledge at 7–8 weeks, then head straight to sea

Urban Penguins

Little Blues are remarkably adaptable. Colonies exist in central Wellington harbour (New Zealand), under seaside homes in Oamaru, and in suburban gardens. Local councils and communities have implemented road tunnels, cat-control zones, and speed restrictions to protect them.

---

Where to see them: Phillip Island (Victoria, Australia) or Oamaru (South Island, New Zealand) offer world-class Little Blue experiences.