South American Penguin Skull Replica or Magellanic Penguin measures 5.5 in. Magellanic Penguin Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw).
The South American Penguin or Magellanic penguin is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen as far north as Espirito Santo.
South American Penguin or Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be 24–30 in. tall and weigh between 6.0 and 14.3 lb. The males are larger than the females, and the weight of both drops while the parents raise their young.
Adults have black backs and white abdomens. There are two black bands between the head and the breast, with the lower band shaped in an inverted horseshoe.
The head is black with a broad white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat.
Like other species of penguins, the Magellanic penguin has very rigid wings used to swim under water.
Magellanic penguins travel in large groups 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, which have a density of 20 nests per 100 m2.
The South American Penguin or Magellanic penguins breeding season begins with the arrival of adult Magellanic penguins at the breeding colonies in September and extends into late February and March when the chicks are mature enough to leave the colonies. One of the largest of these colonies is located at Punta Tombo.
Nests are built under bushes or in burrows. Two eggs are laid. Incubation lasts 39–42 days, a task which the parents share in 10 to 15 day shifts.
The chicks are cared for by both parents for 29 days and are fed every two to three days. Normally, both are raised through adulthood, though occasionally only one chick is raised.
A successful Magellanic is considered to be able to raise 0.7 chicks on average per breeding season.
The South American Penguin or Magellanic penguins male and female penguins take turns hatching, as they forage far away from their nests.
The males return from the sea on the day the second egg is laid to take their turn incubating The second eggs are generally larger and with higher temperature than the first egg. The first one is more likely to survive, but under some conditions both chicks may be raised successfully.
Male and female Magellanic penguins overlap in the at-sea areas they use whilst foraging, and show only small difference in foraging behaviors during early chick-rearing.
South American Penguin or Magellanic penguins mate with the same partner year after year. The male reclaims his burrow from the previous year and waits to reconnect with his female partner. The females are able to recognize their mates through their call alone.
Once the breeding season is complete, Magellanic penguins migrate north for the winter, where they feed in waters offshore from Peru and Brazil.
