SUBANTARCTIC
Seashore

The seashores of the Subantarctic can be crowded with penguins and seals in the southern summer...

Class Aves: Birds

Order Charadriiformes: waders & shorebirds

Family Stercorariidae: 'Skuas' and 'Jaegers'

Stercorarius antarcticus, 'Brown Skua', 'Antarctic Skua'.

Family Laridae: Gulls

Family Spheniscidae: Penguins

Eudyptes spp. 'Crested Penguins'

Eudyptes chrysolophus, 'Macaroni Penguin'. Looks similar to the Southern Rockhopper, which can overlap in range, but has a much more orange coloured crest.

Eudyptes schlegeli, 'Royal Penguin'. Breeds only on Macquarie Island.

Eudyptes chrysocome filholi, 'Eastern Rockhopper Penguin'. Considered a sub-species of the 'Southern Rockhopper Penguin'. Breeds on subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean and south of Australia and New Zealand.

Aptenodytes spp.

Aptenodytes patagonicus, 'King Penguin'.

Juvenile of a 'King Penguin'. The young look so different, they were initially thought of being a different species.

Another unusual feature of the 'King Penguin' is their eye. In low light the pupils are round in shape, like almost all other birds. However, when they constrict they form a square or diamond shape, as pictured above.

Megadyptes spp.

Megadyptes antipodes, 'Yellow-eyed Penguins'.

Order Procellariiformes: Tubenoses

Family Diomedeidae: Albatrosses

Phoebetria palpebrata, 'Light-mantled Sooty Albatross'.

Family Procellariidae: Petrels

Macronectes giganteus, 'Southern Giant Petrel'.

Family Phalacrocoracidae: Cormorants

Family Motacillidae

Anthus antarcticus, 'South Georgia Pipit'. The only passerine found on South Georgia.

Class Mammalia

Pinnipeds: Seals

Fur-Seals

A scarred male (Antarctic) Fur Seal, surrounded by female and pups.

Male 'New Zealand Sea Lion' or 'Hooker's Sea Lion' fighting.

Family Phocidae: True Seals

Hydrurga leptonyx, 'Leopard Seal'. When hauled out, they have a distinctive 'lumpy' shape.

Mirounga leonina, 'Elephant Seals'.

For the page on the places to experience the Subantarctic shore

In many ways the subantarctic is underrated compared to the Antarctic. The Subantarctic has a desolate windswept lonely feel, and there is where one can get a much higher diversity of penguins and other sea birds such as albatross and petrels.

Most tourists go on one of the many ships that go to the Malvinas/Falklands and South Georgia on the usual milk run from Ushuaia in Argentina.

The Australian/New Zealand side is not as regularly visited as the South American side, due to the longer distances and inconvenience. However, there are several species, including some endemics, that can not be seen unless you visit this region. Most of the subantarctic islands accessible from the Australasian region politically belong to New Zealand: including the Snares, Auckland and Campbell. There is one island on this mainly underwater ridge that comes out from New Zealand that belongs to Australia, called Macquarie Island.