Travellers on Southern Ocean routes most often meet the western rockhopper penguin on landings in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, with further sightings possible along the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. These are the subantarctic waters and nearby islands the species is known to inhabit, and expedition ships calling here during the austral summer sailing season give the best chance of a shore visit.
What makes this bird worth a second look is less its looks than its paperwork. For years it was lumped together with the eastern rockhopper penguin of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans under the single name "southern rockhopper penguin," and that combined grouping was, earlier still, considered one species with the northern rockhopper penguin. Naturalists have since split the group, but the shared name lingers in older field guides and ship logs, so do not be surprised if a naturalist on board still refers to it that way.
