Largest colony of Magellanic penguins

Punta Tombo, Argentina – February 19, 2017 – More than a million penguins have travelled to Argentina’s Punta Tombo peninsula during this year’s breeding season, drawn by an unusual abundance of small fish, thus setting the new world record for the Largest colony of Magellanic penguins.

Photo: More than a million penguins have travelled to Argentina’s Punta Tombo peninsula during this year’s breeding season, drawn by an unusual abundance of small fish. That’s a record number in recent years for the world’s largest colony of Magellanic penguins, offering an especially stunning spectacle for the tens of thousands of people who visit the reserve annually.

The Guinness World Records world record for the largest penguin colony in the world is on Zavodovski Island in the South Sandwich Islands. Approximately two million chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) breed on the slopes of the island which is an active volcano.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the Largest collection of penguin-related items, set by Birgit Berends (Germany), who had amassed a collection of 11,062 different penguin-related items, as of 14 March 2011.

RThe world’s largest colony of Magellanic penguins come on shore in September and October. Both male and female of the flightless birds take turns sitting on their eggs and hunting for food.

The birds are around 50 centimeters tall and have a broad crescent of white feathers that extends from above each eye to the chin and a small area of pink flesh on the face.

The penguins breed in large colonies in southern Argentina and Chile and migrate to the north between March and September.