Magellanic Penguins forage only in the oceans and breed on land in a variety of island and mainland coastal habitats (Stokes and Boersma 1991, 1998, Garcia-Borboroglu et al. 2002, Rebstock et al. 2016). They use intertidal and beach habitats to avoid excessive heat at colonies (Pozzi et al. 2013). At sea, they typically remain over the continental shelf in Argentina (Stokes et al. 1998, Boersma et al. 2002, Wilson et al. 2005, Boersma and Rebstock 2009, Raya Rey et al. 2010, Yorio et al. 2010, Raya Rey et al. 2012, Sala et al. 2012, Gómez-Laich et al. 2015, Rosciano et al. 2016), but may forage in deep waters off the (very narrow) shelf in Chile (Raya Rey et al. 2013, Pütz et al. 2016) and in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (Pütz et al. 2002). Individuals may also forage on the continental slope; males tend to be more offshore-foragers compared to females. They dive up to almost 100 m, but more often to a few dozen metres (Walker and Boersma 2003, Raya Rey et al. 2012, Sala et al. 2014, Gómez-Laich et al. 2015, Rosciano et al. 2016). They may be seen foraging in shallow water close to the shore, but more often forage out of sight of land. Penguins tracked by satellite, GPS and geolocation tags during incubation typically foraged more than 100 km, and sometimes as much as 600 km from various colonies in Argentina (Wilson et al. 2005, Boersma and Rebstock 2009, Boersma et al. 2009, 2013, 2015). Even when provisioning chicks, adults forage hundreds of kilometers from the colony (Boersma and Rebstock 2009, Boersma et al. 2009), although at many colonies they travel up to a few dozen km (Raya Rey et al. 2010, Yorio et al. 2010, Sala et al. 2012, Gómez-Laich et al. 2015, Rosciano et al. 2016). Breeding habitats include scrublands and grasslands in Argentina, tussock grass in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and temperate forests in Chile.

Spheniscus magellanicus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, in Argentina (67 sites), Chile (at least 31 known sites, but detailed complete surveys are necessary), and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas, at least 100 sites) (Woods and Woods 1997, Ellis et al. 1998, Boersma et al. 2013, 2015, García-Borboroglu et al. 2019). In the Atlantic, most individuals in the winter migrate north to northern Argentina, Uruguay or southern Brazil, exceptionally to northern Brazil (Stokes et al. 1998, García-Borboroglu et al. 2010, Stokes et al. 2014). Magellanic Penguins in the Pacific Ocean are less migratory, but some travel as much as 1000 km north (Skewgar et al. 2014, Pütz et al. 2016) and are rare non-breeding visitors to Peru (Zavalaga and Paredes 2009). Vagrants have been found as far north as El Salvador (O. Komar in litt. 2007), and south to Avian Island (67°, 46'S) on the Antarctic Peninsula (Barbosa et al. 2007), as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Conservation Actions Underway
Many non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and individuals work on the conservation of Magellanic Penguins, and data from many studies have advanced conservation. Tanker lanes were moved 40 kilometers farther offshore along the coast of Chubut in 1997. This added to improvements at port loading facilities, which greatly reduced the number of oiled penguins in that area (Boersma 2008). The Management Plan for Punta Tombo is in place, but has not yet been effectively implemented by Chubut Province authorities. The Argentine government has created new marine protected parks along the coast, which include some penguin breeding areas and fragments of foraging areas (Patagonia Austral, Isla Pinguino, Makenke and Monte Leon). Specifically, a new UNESCO Biosphere Reserve will help give protection to 20 colonies (Garcia-Borboroglu et al. 2015). A new Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the large colony has been designated in Argentina (Boersma et al. 2015, Garcia-Borboroglu et al. 2015). Unfortunately, many of the parks lack effective planning and/or implementation. As MPAs are in general ineffective for the protection of highly mobile species such as penguins (Boersma and Parrish 1999), protection of penguin populations requires new conservation tools (Boersma et al. 2002, 2007, Garcia-Borboroglu et al. 2008, Yorio 2009, Stokes et al. 2014, Boersma et al. 2015). The Rio Negro Province has elaborated a Management Plan for the northernmost colony along the Atlantic coast. CADIC-CONICET is working together with the Tierra del Fuego government on the Management Plan for the Staten Island reserve and the intention is to include marine protected regions based on the tracking studies (Rosciano et al. 2016).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct population censuses, determine the ratios of juveniles to adults and the adult sex ratio in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Monitor effects of fisheries in breeding and wintering areas. Reduce bycatch and oiling incidents. Place or improve design of Marine Protected Areas or marine zoning in wintering and breeding areas. Implement complementary conservation and management tools to marine protected areas. Eradicate introduced predators from islands with colonies. Reduce impact of tourism and recreation at breeding colonies, for example by controlling unrestricted visits and defining appropriate visiting hours. Prepare contingency plans for emerging diseases or fires.