^i'o2^1 ■^'^ SouEF, A Young King Pengiiiii at Melbomyie Zoo. 27 



I2j^ inches. The length of the foot is 6 inches, and its breadth 

 2 inches. The feet and toes are black, and the under surface of 

 the foot deeply serrated, evidently to prevent the bird from 

 slipping on the smooth, wet rocks or ice. There are three long 

 toes and one small one, half an inch in length, on the upper 

 inner side, just at the commencement of the toes, and which is 

 practically useless. The tail feathers are about 2^ inches long, 

 and are strong and bristly and light bluish at the tip, the rest 

 being dark. A few feathers are also sprouling, principally above 

 the tail, about an inch long, and are also light blue at the end. 

 From the tip of almost each of the segments of these young 

 feathers a thread of down springs, to the length of i^ inches. 

 The down from the end segments of the new feathers is mostly 

 intact, but the barbules from the lower ones are not so numerous, 

 having either been broken off through abrasion or possibly not 

 having grown. On the feather I have before me there are 32 

 filaments of down, but they vary in the different feathers. The 

 eyes are dark brown, and the birds are able to partially protect 

 them with a transparent covering, which they can close over the 

 eye from the front under the eyelid. They frequently seem 

 to do it — sometimes right over, and at other times half-way. 

 The ears are large, with an almost circular patch of dark bare 

 skin round them, on a level with but i^ inches back from the 

 gape. The total length of the bird, from the tip of the beak to 

 the end of the tail, is 2 feet 2 inches. 



Young " Kings " in captivity are very sociable, often following 

 anyone about who may be near, having no fear of man. They 

 are often silent when by themselves, but on seeing anyone 

 approaching at once keep uttering their squeaky, high-pitched 

 note, and moving their heads freely about, possibly expecting 

 food. They have various ways of resting. Occasionally they 

 will lie flat down, but generally stand up, sometimes bending 

 forward until their head rests against their body about half-way 

 down ; at other times they just bend their head over until it 

 rests on the upper portion of their body, either on the front or 

 on the side — it seems immaterial which — and so go to sleep. 

 They never seem to duck their head under their scanty wing. 

 The least unusual sound will quickly wake them. 



Stray Feathers. 



A Launceston Note. — During the first week in February 

 Starlings appeared for the first time in our and several other 

 gardens in Launceston. In all probability they came from 

 the flocks down the West Tamar district. English Skylarks, 

 which until lately could be heard every morning at Invermay, 

 a suburb of Launceston, have been all destroyed by "pot- 

 hunters." — Frank M. Littler. 10/3/02. 



