Gentoo penguin

Pygoscelis papua

The Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is a bird found in Antarctica, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Falkland Islands and Argentina. Rocky coasts and islands around Antarctica and nearby. It eats fish and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Pygoscelis papua
Region	Polar & Oceans
Found in	Antarctica, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Falkland Islands and Argentina

🏡 Where the Gentoo penguin lives

Rocky coasts and islands around Antarctica and nearby.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish60%
🐛 Insects & bugs40%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Gentoos are fast underwater swimmers, and they can dive deep to catch food.

Hear the Gentoo penguin

Recorded by steve (CC BY-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC953123. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Gentoo penguin

Where does the Gentoo penguin live?

The Gentoo penguin lives in Antarctica, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Falkland Islands and Argentina. Rocky coasts and islands around Antarctica and nearby.

What does the Gentoo penguin eat?

fish (about 60%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 40%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Gentoo penguin endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Polar & Oceans

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.