Magellanic Penguin

Spheniscus magellanicus (Forster, JR, 1781)

Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus, breeds along the southern South American coast from central Chile and central Argentina to Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands, and moves north to south-east Brazil outside the breeding season. It is a South American penguin in the family Spheniscidae. The species was described by Forster in 1781. It is one of the banded penguins in the genus Spheniscus, and its closest relatives are the African Penguin, Humboldt Penguin and Galápagos Penguins. It was named for Ferdinand Magellan, who recorded the birds in 1520.

Order

Sphenisciformes

Family

Spheniscidae — Penguins

Breeding range

South America: coastal c Chile and c Argentina to Cape Horn and Falkland Is.

Nonbreeding range

to se Brazil