Despite their scientific name, patagonica , there's no evidence that they ever lived in Patagonia. Over 1.6 million breeding pairs can be found disperesed over the Falkland Islands, Macquarie Islands, Heard Island, Iles Crozet and Marion island. They aren't considered migratory.
King penguins feed upon crustaceans, small fish, squid and plankton.
Subspecies proposed by earlier workers have not been substantiated, and the species seems to be uniform throughout its broad circumpolar range. Several colonies are known to have been destroyed by hunters. Kings may formerly have bred in the Magellanes region and on Staten Island, and the recent appearance of new colonies on Heard Island and the Falkland Islands represents a recolonisation after extirpation by man. King penguins incubate their single egg on the feet, incubating in summer and rearing their chicks throughout the following winter. Parents which lay early in one season and rear their chick successfully undergo moult and breed later in the second season, but cannot produce more than two chicks in three successive years.