Vol. II. 



1902 



] HuTTON, Penguins. 



The Penguins which live in rookeries spend about eight 

 months on or near the shore and four months at sea, when the 

 breeding grounds are quite deserted ; but they do not seem to 

 go far away, as they are rarely seen more than 50 miles from 

 land. 



The times of breeding are not yet well known. Eudyptula 

 minor is the first, and commences in the early part of September, 

 while E. albosio;nata does not begin until October. In the 

 Antipodes and Bounty Islands C. sclateri comes to the land in 

 September, C. cJirysoconie arriving at the Antipodes a little 

 later ; and they leave in May or June, when the young are 

 sufficiently strong to undertake a sea voyage. Dr. H. Filhol ^ 

 says that in Campbell Island C. chrysocoine begins to lay early 

 in November, while in Kerguelen's Island it does not arrive 

 until then,-|- and commences to lay about ist December. In 

 the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam they are said to be 

 much earlier, arriving in July and leaving for the sea in March. 

 C. scJilegeh, in Macquarie Island, commences to lay early in 

 November. P. papua is an early bird, and at Kerguelen's 

 Island the young of the first brood hatch out towards the end 

 of October and the second in December. i\l . antipodus breeds 

 in New Zealand at the end of October ; but in Campbell Island, 

 according to Dr. Filhol, its eggs are laid early in November, the 

 young being hatched out by the end of the month. The King 

 Penguin, at Macquarie Island, commences to lay its eggs about 

 the middle of November. 



The Penguins differ much in their dispositions. Megadyptes 

 and Catarrhactes are sulky in captivity, while the King and the 

 little Blue Penguin are much more friendly, the former espec- 

 ially being easily tamed. 



Now, what part has natural selection played in the develop- 

 ment of the Penguins ? Obviously their feathers, wings, and the 

 backward position of the legs are adaptations for an oceanic life, 

 and the fatty subcutaneous layer is an adaptation for keeping 

 the body warm. All these are unquestionably due to natural 

 selection. But when we come to the generic characters we 

 cannot feel sure that they are all adaptations. These differences 

 are chiefly in the bill and in the tail. The bill in Aptenodytes is 

 long and slender, and is curved downwards at the tip. This 

 seems to be an adaptation for catching fish, but we do not know 

 that the King Penguin feeds more on fishes than others. The 

 chief character of CatarrJiactes is the strong bill, which is swollen 

 at the base of the latericorn ; and as the males have larger bills 

 than the females we may suppose that this is an adaptation for 

 fighting, and so may be due to natural selection. But I can 



* " Mission de I'lle Campbell," tome iii., 2 partie, ji. 58. 

 t Kidder, "Contributions to Natural History of Kerguelen Island," Washington 



(1875), p. 46. 



