MAGELLANIC PENGUINS (Spheniscus magellanicus)

MAGELLANIC PENGUINS (Spheniscus magellanicus)

SIZE:

• 24-28 in. (61-71 cm)
• 11 lb (5 kg)

THREAT LEVEL:

Near threatened

DISTRIBUTION:

• The Falkland Islands and the coastlines of Chile and Argentina

HABITAT:

Breeds in burrows where digging is possible, otherwise on the surface or under bushes. Colonies form in a variety of habitats from low forests to grassland to bare rocks, often on islands or headlands. Some colonies on the Argentinean side number several hundreds of thousands of pairs.

MARKINGS:

Two brown chest stripes. Humboldt Penguins lack the second dark breast band found in Magellanic Penguins and have more extensive areas of bare facial skin. However, as both of these characters are subject to individual variation and hybrids do occur, not every bird might be identifiable.

NEST TYPE:

• Burrows or under bushes

PREY:

• Cuttlefish, small fishes like anchovies and sardines

PREDATORS:

• Southern sea lions, leopard seals, Patagonian foxes

POPULATION ESTIMATE:

• 1.3 million pairs

Sources:

http://www.penguins.cl/penguins-species.htm

http://www.penguinworld.com/types/adelie.html

http://www.iucnredlist.org

noaa.org

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