by 
The Curious Bag
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The Macaroni Penguin gained its unusual name not from eating a diet of macaroni but from the yellow feathers on its head that looked like those worn by Englishmen of the 1700s in their hats. This type of penguin consumes aquatic creatures.
Diet
The bulk of the Macaroni Penguin's diet is fish, squid and a small crustacean called a krill, which exist in huge populations in the Southern oceans where the bird resides.
Size
The Macaroni Penguin has the ability to dive as deep as 300 feet as it chases its prey, but most dives are within the 50- to 200-foot range. At night this bird will rarely dive deep, staying within 10 to 20 feet of the surface as it hunts for a meal.
Considerations
When the penguin's chicks are born and need constant feeding, the bird will make daily trips into the ocean in search of food, bringing it back to the young to eat.
Predators
While the Macaroni Penguin has its place as a predator on the food chain, it in turn provides food for such marine mammals as sea lions, killer whales and leopard seals. Sea birds like the skua and petrel will kill and eat the penguin young if they catch them alone.
Fun Fact
There are some 12 million pairs of Macaroni Penguins throughout the world, according to the Antarctic Connection website. This makes the species the most plentiful among the penguin types in terms of numbers.
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