Spheniscus magellanicus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, in Argentina (at 63 sites), Chile (at least 10 locations), and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)¹, with some migrating north to southern Brazil². A juvenile was discovered in El Salvador in 2007¹⁰. The world population is estimated at 1,300,000 pairs: 950,000 along the Argentinian coast, 100,000+ in the Falklands (Malvinas) and 200,000+ in Chile¹. Population trends differ between colonies. The two largest colonies in Argentina have both shown decreases during the last decade, but other small colonies have grown⁹.In Argentina, the Caleta Valdes colony increased from two pairs in the early 1960s to 26,000 pairs in the early 1990s; the Isla Deseado colony more than doubled between 1986 and 1996; the colony at Punta Tumbo has decreased almost 30% since 1987 owing to higher juvenile and young adult mortality; and the Cabo Virgenes colony has remained stable for at least the last 10 years¹. It is reported that the Falkland Islands colonies have declined almost 50% since the 1980s, but data are insufficient to substantiate this^4,7. Overall, trends are uncertain but there are significant declines in some areas and substantial mortality owing to a variety of ongoing threats.