THE FASTING PERIOD 



he frequently poked his httle head forward and from 

 side to side, peering up at the knolls, evidently in 

 search of something. 



Arrived at length at the south end of the 

 rookery, he appeared suddenly to make up his 

 mind, and boldly ascending a knoll which was well 

 tenanted and covered with nests, walked straight 

 up to one of these on which a hen sat. There was 

 a cock standing at her side, but my little friend 

 either did not see him or wished to ignore him 

 altogether. He stuck his beak into the frozen 

 ground in front of the nest, lifted up his head and 

 made as if to place an imaginary stone in front of 

 the hen, a most obvious piece of dumb show. The 

 hen took not the slightest notice nor did her mate. 



My friend then turned and walked up to another 

 nest, a yard or so off, where another cock and hen 

 were. The cock flew at him immediately, and 

 after a short fight, in which each used his flippers 

 savagely, he was driven clean down the side of the 

 knoll away from the nests, the victorious cock 

 returning to his hen. The] newcomer, with the 

 persistence which characterises his kind, came 

 straight back to the same nest and stood close by 

 it, soon ruffling his feathers and evidently settling 

 himself for a doze, but, I suppose, because he made 



37 



