Abstract:
We describe a long-range migration of a pre-moulting adult chinstrap penguin from Bouvetøya,
a small relatively recently established colony, to the South Sandwich Islands, where large, established
colonies of this species reside. The trip lasted around three weeks, covered ,3600 km, and the time of
arrival was consistent with the annual moult. The bird did not travel along the shortest path or along a
constant bearing, but instead followed what appeared to be a series of two or three rhumb lines of constant
bearing. Small southward and northward deviations from the general path were consistent with local water
currents. Travel speeds were high during daylight but decreased at night, suggesting that resting or
opportunistic feeding occurred preferentially at night. While long-range winter migrations of chinstraps to
feeding areas in the vicinity of distant colonies have been previously described, this is the first observation
of such a trip during the period between breeding and moulting, and the first record of an individual actually
arriving at one of these distant colonies. This has implications for understanding population structure and
management of this important Southern Ocean predator.
