Patagonian penguins are on the move. This year more than a million of the black-and-white birds have traveled to Argentina's Punta Tombo peninsula. The penguins are drawn by an unusual abundance of small fish during breeding season.
Punta Tombo is located in the Argentinian part of Patagonia. (Patagonia is shared by Argentina and Chile.) The peninsula's tiny islets are well suited to nesting. Plus, sardines and anchovies swim close to the shoreline. This year the area boasts an unusually abundant haul of the tiny fish.
Penguin-packed beaches offer an especially stunning spectacle for the tens of thousands of people who visit the Punta Tombo National Reserve annually. Local officials say the penguin turnout is a record for the world's largest colony of Magellanic (South American) penguins.
Penguins are flightless birds. The Magellanic penguins come on shore in September and October and stay while the males and females take turns caring for their eggs and hunting for food.
The birds breed in large colonies in southern Argentina and Chile and migrate north as far as southwestern Brazil between March and September.
Magellanic penguins are around 20 inches tall and have a broad crescent of white feathers that extends from just above each eye to the chin and a small area of pink on the face.
