New species of flying penguin discovered on 1km sand strip island in New Zealand

“Although the island is predator free, and the birds are safe from predation, there are still large threats facing this small population. Sand dunes are particularly vulnerable to erosion and turbulent seas have cut away much of their habitat. Climate change and storm surges also threaten the species’ survival.”

I wonder why the population isn’t thriving. Elsewhere in the article they are referred to as a “threatened population”. Not sure what’s the threat.

Anyway, interesting study.

155 people helped to fund the research team that serendipitously discovered a new bird species. Publication in PLoS One: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....