The Fiordland crested penguin, or tawaki, is one of the rarest of New Zealand's mainland penguins. Adults stand about 60 centimetres and weigh up to four kilograms.
Their upper parts are coloured dark bluish grey with slightly darker feathers on the head. The sides of the face, chin and throat are dark slate-grey with a broad yellow eyebrow stripe, which splays out and droops down the neck. Juvenile birds have a thinner eyebrow stripe and a white chin and throat. Most birds have between three and six grey/white cheek stripes. They have an orange bill, which is slightly larger in adult males.