Video shows a wayward penguin swimming and diving among beachgoers along Brazil’s most iconic shoreline

Magellanic penguins are found along the waters of the Magellan Straits and environs and around the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. Photo / Jill Worrall

A sleek Magellanic penguin native to the far-southern reaches of South America has been seen zipping through warm, shallow water off Rio de Janeiro - to the amusement of throngs of beachgoers.

Footage captured by a bystander shows the bird, alone and off course, swimming circles around people in swimsuits at Rio’s Praia do Arpoador over the weekend, occasionally poking its head out of the water.

“Penguins are curious. When there are people, they’re going to look,” said P. Dee Boersma, a conservation biologist and professor at the University of Washington.

The Rio beach penguin appeared to be a juvenile, said Boersma, who researches Magellanic penguins in Argentina.

A penguin is taking a beach holiday in Rio de Janeiro. A view of Ipanema Beach in the evening, Brazil. Photo / Supplied

This flightless seabird was probably born around November, which is breeding season, she said.

That the penguin, of a species that usually lives on the southern coast of South America, near Antarctica, had ventured toward Rio de Janeiro is not completely surprising, she said.

“They’re following the fish. Wouldn’t you?” said Boersma.

That’s why they head north in the winter - up to (6440km - toward the Tropic of Capricorn.

“It’s a long way for them … but they’re trying to eat in the winter.”

When north, the species move from living a terrestrial lifestyle while breeding to a pelagic lifestyle, spending time in the open ocean, foraging far from shore.

The birds have black bodies and white bellies to help them survive: Seen by predators above, a penguin’s dark back blends with the dark ocean. Seen by predators below, its white stomach blends with the bright sky, as National Geographic has reported.

Solitary penguins are sometimes found far from home - such as a confused Adelie penguin that was discovered in New Zealand, some 3220km from its native Antarctica, in 2021.

The local resident who spotted the penguin at first thought the animal was a “soft toy”.

Government conservationists rescued the starving bird and gave it a fish smoothie before releasing it back to the wild.