To many the Falkland Islands are the “Penguin Islands” and the ultimate place to get a fine view of these splendid creatures with their comical waddling, their naughty expressions, and their agility in the ocean or their endearing clumsiness on land.

Falkland Islands (1986) 10 Pounds (front) - Penguins on the left.
Note: Sheep (center) amd Sea-Lions (right)

Penguins in the Falkland Islands have the ability to make the landscape come alive through their presence and with colonies of King, Gentoo, Rockhopper, Magellanic (see below) and Macaroni Penguins; they seem capable of adding a sense of atmosphere to the location as well as colour. To meet them is to experience sheer bliss and to share a moment with them in close proximity is like a gathering of old friends.

Source: Visitor Falklands.com

The Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil. Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized Penguins, adults are black and white in color, growing to 70-76 cm (28-30 in) tall and a weight of 3kg - 6kg (males larger than females).

Adult's have black backs and white stomachs, with two black bands between the head and the breast, the lower in an inverted horseshoe shape, their black head has a broad white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat.

Penguins at Gypsy Cove, Falkland Islands

Chicks and juveniles are a grey-blue color on the back, with a faded grey-blue color on their chest. Life span in the wild is up to 25 years and up to 30 years in captivity. Young birds usually have a blotched pattern on their feet, with this 'blotching' fading as they age. Older birds (10+ years) usually have solid black feet.

Like the other species of Penguins, the Magellanic Penguin has very rigid wings used to 'fly' under water. Magellanic penguins travel in large flocks when hunting for food.

A Magellanic Penguin at its burrow

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. Often both, but sometimes only one is raised through adulthood. Incubation lasts 39-42 days, which the parents share in 10-15 day shifts. The chicks are cared for by both parents for 29 days, and fed every 2-3 days.

Interestingly, these penguins mate with the same partner year after year. Males reclaim the burrow from the previous year and wait to reconnect with their female partners. The females are able to recognize their mates through their call alone.

Sheep farming

Sheep farming (as of 2002, there were 583,000 sheep on the island) was formerly the main source of income for the islands, and still plays an important part with high quality wool exports going to the UK, but efforts to diversify introduced in 1984 have made fishing the largest part of the economy and brought increasing income from tourism.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Magellanic Penguin"