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Magellanic Penguin

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

               iMagellanic Penguin

                             Conservation status

   Near Threatened (NT)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Sphenisciformes
   Family:  Spheniscidae
   Genus:   Spheniscus
   Species: S. magellanicus

                                Binomial name

   Spheniscus magellanicus
   ( Forster, 1781)

   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.

Appearance

   Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized, black and white penguins, growing
   70-76 cm tall. They have a black head with a broad white border running
   from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on
   the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts,
   with two black bands between the head and the breast, the lower in an
   inverted horseshoe shape.

Diet

   Magellanic penguins feed in the water, preying on cuttlefish, sardines,
   squid, krill, and other crustaceans. They drink sea water, filtering
   out the salt with their salt excreting glands

Behaviour & Reproduction

   A magellanic penguin at its burrow
   Enlarge
   A magellanic penguin at its burrow

   Magellanic penguins travel in large flocks when hunting for food. In
   the breeding season, these birds gather in large nesting colonies at
   the coasts of Argentina, Southern Chile, and the Falkland islands,
   having 20 nests per 100 square meters. Nests are built under bushes, or
   in burrows. Two eggs are laid and often both and sometimes only one is
   raised through adulthood. Two eggs are laid and often both and
   sometimes only one is raised through adulthood. Incubation lasts 39-42
   days in 10-15 day shifts, and the chicks are cared for by both parents
   for 29 days, and fed every 2-3 days. These birds are very shy on land
   and hide in their nests while on shore.

Status in the Wild

   Millions of these penguins still live on the coasts of Chile and
   Argentina, but the main threats to these species are the vulnerability
   of large breeding colonies to oil spills which kill 20,000 adults and
   22,000 juveniles every year off the coast of Argentina. The decline of
   fish populations are also responsible, as well as predators including
   sea lions and giant petrels which prey on the chicks.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellanic_Penguin"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
