154 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 



The Birds of Antarctica. — Mr. Borchgrevink's paper in 

 the ' Geographical Journal ' for Octoher last, upon the Ex- 

 pedition of the ' Southern Cross/ contains several interesting 

 passages on the birds of ' Antarctica/ The first Emperor 

 Penguins {Aptenodytes forsteri) were met with on January 

 18th, 1899, in about lat. 65° S. and long. 164° E. 



''The Common Penguin of Victoria Land is Eudyptes 

 adelice. As in 1894, the rookery of these birds at Cape Adare 

 covered the whole peninsula of Camp Hidley ; their nests, 

 placed above the guano deposits, being formed of small 

 pebbles, probably blown from the top of the cape by the 

 gales. In 1894 the colony was inhabited almost entirely by 

 white-throated Penguins, whereas those met with on our 

 outward voyage in 1899 had nearly all black throats. I was 

 able to prove that both are of the same species ; the young 

 birds, Avhich are left behind when the adults go to sea, 

 having more or less white throats^. It was curious to see 

 the Penguins as they invaded the peninsula in the spring, 

 one continuous stream passing over the ice from October 14 

 onwards. They at once started nest-making, taking pos- 

 session of their old places, and bringing fresh pebbles to the 

 nests. During the time of love-making they had many hard 

 fights. As a general rule two eggs are laid, while three are 

 very seldom found ; tlie period of incubation, during which 

 both parents take their turn on the nest, lasted in 1899 

 from the beginning of November to early in December. 

 During heavy gales the birds, which ordinarily sit upright 

 or lie facing various directions, all turned with their beaks 

 to the south-east, the direction from which we had the 

 heaviest gales. The Skua is the worst enemy of the Pen- 

 guin, constantly soaring over the nests and watching an 

 opportunity to steal an egg or young bird. 



" We saw comparatively few of the Emperor Penguin 

 {Aptenodytes forsteri), nor were we able to find their nesting- 

 place. In the autumn of 1900, we for the first time saw 

 several together, and even then only in small numbers. They 



* [The white-throated form is the Dusyrhamphus hercuUs Finsch, but 

 has been cori'ectly re-united to Pyyyscelis adelice in the B. M. Catalogue 

 (xxvi. p. 633).— Edd.] 



