Yellow-eyed penguins at Katiki Point, Moeraki, New Zealand

Yellow-eyed penguins at Katiki Point, Moeraki, New Zealand

The hills are alive with the sound of penguins here on Katiki Point, part of the Moeraki Peninsula on New Zealand’s South Island. This is a significant habitat for endangered yellow-eyed penguins, which are some of the rarest penguins in the world. They are a solitary, vocal bird known as hoiho, or ‘noise-shouter,’ in the Māori language. This winter the birds had a lot to talk about, as scientists discovered evidence of a prehistoric penguin in New Zealand that was human-sized. These prehistoric relatives were given the name Kumimanu biceae--kumimanu means ‘monster bird’ in the Māori tongue.