Banks Peninsula, blue penguin, <i>Eudyptula minor</i>, guard period, lay date, average pair bond length

The little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) is in decline throughout much of its range in New Zealand and Australia, largely due to introduced predators, human disturbance and roadkill mortalities. The white-flippered penguin is a unique morphological variant of the blue penguin, which is traditionally given subspecific status (Eudyptula minor albosignata), and is found only on Banks Peninsula and Motunau Island in Canterbury, New Zealand. We monitored a varying number of nest boxes from 1996 to 2009.