Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)
Magellanic penguins live in temperate climates, not in the Antarctic. In the breeding season the parents share the babysitting duties, one incubating the chick while the other goes out to sea to feed. The chick gets a meal every two to three days.
What do they sound like?
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
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Penguins on the hunt
Andes to Amazon
Ungainly on land, penguins are literally in their element underwater where they appear to fly.
Forest penguins
Andes to Amazon
Penguins are unexpected forest inhabitants, but they prove surprisingly adaptable - if the sealions don't get them.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Archived
Andes to Amazon: LOST WORLDS
6th of a 6 part series exploring the wildlife & wild places of South America. Looks at the wildlife of the South American coast, especially penguins.
About the Magellanic penguin
The Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus, is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil. It is the most numerous of the Spheniscus penguins. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Humboldt Penguin and the Galápagos Penguin.
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Scientific Classification
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Penguin (Spheniscidae)
Genus: Banded penguin (Spheniscus)
Species: Magellanic Penguin (magellanicus)
Other Spheniscus
- Humboldt penguin (humboldti)
Common Names
Jackass
Where can I see them?
This region contains the following habitats:
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder
Conservation Status
The Magellanic penguin is Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Magellanic penguin - Spheniscus magellanicus (arkive.org)
- Spheniscus magellanicus (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Penguin Project: fact file (mesh.biology.washington.edu)
- Penguin conservation in the Falklands (falklandsconservation.com)
- World Land Trust: fact file (worldlandtrust.org)
- Magellanic Penguin (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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