The royal penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) is a species of penguin, which can be found only on the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and adjacent islands. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the royal penguin as Least Concern. It was first described by the German ornithologist Otto Finsch in 1876 and was named in honor of the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel.
Adults typically weigh between 11 and 17 lb, though body mass varies considerably throughout the breeding season. Males are generally slightly larger and heavier than females. Juveniles resemble adults but have duller plumage, shorter crests, and darker facial coloration. Chicks are covered in brown down during early development before molting into juvenile plumage prior to fledging.
Outside the breeding and moulting seasons, royal penguins are pelagic and spend most of their lives at sea in subantarctic waters surrounding Antarctica. Their non-breeding distribution remains incompletely known, though individuals are believed to disperse widely throughout the Southern Ocean.
left|thumb|Royal penguin chicks.
Incubation lasts approximately 35 days and is shared by both sexes in alternating shifts of up to 10–14 days. Following hatching, males usually guard the chick for 2–3 weeks while females forage at sea and return with food. If provisioning trips are delayed for extended periods, chick mortality may occur.
Since the end of penguin hunting on Macquarie the numbers have climbed to 850,000 pairs. Before hunting started, there were three million penguins on the island (both royal and king).