AfESTS AND EGGS UP AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. loi I 



a p:iir of cji^gs or downy youug. , With (.-ouaidLrable spii'it ami wilh a. fruu 

 use of bill and claws the birds splendidly defeudcd their ofl'spriug — aud, 

 it uiay bo added, to the discomfiture of one or two of tho party 

 who attempted to take eggs. It was noticed how highly odo- 



riferous most of the uesliiig-holes were ; some, judging by their 

 " strength," we calculated had been constantly occupied since tlie days 

 of Captain Cook. In a few instances we observed four eggs — two good 

 aud two addled — in one nest. Date, November, 1890. 



Again, three yeai's aftci'war'ds, we heard the familiar calls all night 

 long, from an islet near where we lay at anchor in Franklin iSound, 

 Fiu'ucaux Group. We intended to investigate the place, to ascertain 

 if the two species (the Little and the Fairy Penguins) were there, but, 

 putting off the chance for a more convenient time, the opportunity 

 never again occiuTcd. 



Mr. D. Le Souef, in his daring axlveuturc with Mr. 11. P. C. Ashwortli 

 ou Albatross liock, 1894, prociu'ed some very interesting information 

 concerning the two species of small Penguins (E. iniimr and E. undina ). 

 lu the ■■ Ibis " for October, 1895, he states : " The birds were extremely 

 numerous ; they had their nests both under rocks and in crevices near 

 the water's edge, and also on the top of the island under tussocks of 

 gi'ass and other herbage ; in fact, .the whole island was a large Penguin 

 rookery, as their nests were found eveiywhere. Jvist before dark they 

 approached their landing places in flocks of some thirty birds. They 

 waited about one lumdred yards out from the land for some little time 

 before coming in, and occasionallv two flocks were to be seen not fai" 

 from one another, the members of each flock keeping very close together. 

 After a time one lot would rapidly approach the land, swimming both 

 on and under the surface, and coming in just behind the break of the 

 swell. Thus they looked exactly like a shoal of fish, with their shining 

 bluish backs and silveiy-white bellies, swimming quickly through the 

 water. They all endeavoured to get a foothold on the rocks before the 

 drawback carried them away again, and there was a gi-eat deal of squealing 

 and splashing about in the water in their haste to accomplish it. This 

 many of them did, but the remainder were cai^ried back, only to be 

 brought in again bv the succeeding swell, when probably they made good 

 their landing. To avoid being dashed to pieces against the ragged rocks 

 by the heavy sea as it comes thimdering in, they turn roimd and swim 

 rapidly against the surf, which prevents theii' coming against any obstacle 

 with so much force as they otherwise woidd when being carried in ; and 

 when the swell has spent itself, and just before the drawback occurs, 

 they endeavour to secm-e a landing. Now and then a pair of bii'ds may 

 be seen hunying in by themselves, but as a rule they anive in companies. 



" The birds, when first seen approaching the island, were in a com- 

 pact flock, and did not collect together just before coming on shore, so 

 it is probable that they keep together when out at sea during the day. 

 After landing they assembled just above high-water mark, and remained 

 there for some time preening their feathere. When about half an houi' 

 had elapsed after the first contingent landed, and the numbers had been 

 augmented by fresh an'ivals to over one lumdred birds, one would start 

 along their well-worn track, and the others would all follow, but they 



