  This paper presents the initial results of a multi-site photometric programme
to examine the extraordinary behaviour displayed by 18 R Coronae Borealis (RCB)
stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). RCB stars exhibit a unique variability
whereby they undergo rapid declines of up to several magnitudes. These are
thought to be caused by the formation of dust in the stellar environment which
reduces the brightness.
  The monitoring programme comprised the collection of UBVRI photometric data
using five telescopes located at three different southern hemisphere longitudes
(Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, Mount Joun University Observatory in New
Zealand, and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in South Africa).
  Examination of the data acquired in the V and I filters resulted in the
identification of a total of 18 RCB declines occurring in four stars.
Construction of colour-magnitude diagrams (V vs V-I), during the recovery to
maximum light were undertaken in order to study the unique colour behaviour
associated with the RCB declines. The combined recovery slope for the four
stars was determined to be 3.37+/-0.24, which is similar to the value of
3.1+/-0.1 calculated for galactic RCB stars (Skuljan et al. 2003). These
results may imply that the nature of the dust (i.e. the particle size) is
similar in both our Galaxy and the MCs.
