370 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Appx. 



the birds all huddled together in enormous colonies. It was im- 

 perative, as we could see, that we should run no risk of being 

 frozen in prematurely in a place so utterly unsuitable for winter- 

 ing as this, so we were forced to leave without investigating 

 further ; but although at the time we thought the birds were 

 collected there for nesting, we now are almost certain, in the light 

 of what we discovered later on, that they were simply moulting 

 birds, waiting patiently for their feathers to drop off, where for 

 three weeks they could sit safely without being forced to take to 

 the water. 



Not many birds undertake to lay their eggs in the darkness of 

 a polar winter, nor do many birds appear to think that sea-ice is 

 the most attractive ground to ' sit ' on. And when, in addition to 

 this, we find the Emperor penguin hatching out its chicks in the 

 coldest month of the whole Antarctic year, when the mean tempera- 

 ture for the month is eighteen degrees below zero, Farenheit, and 

 the minimum may fall to minus sixty-eight, I think we may rightly 

 consider the bird to be eccentric. 



The Emperor penguin stands nearly four feet high, and weighs 

 upwards of eighty to ninety pounds. He is an exceedingly hand- 

 some bird, with a rich black head, a bluish-grey back and wings, a 

 lemon yellow breast with a satin-like gloss on the feathers, and a 

 brilliant patch of orange on the neck and lower bill. His move- 

 ments are slow and stately, and the dignity of his appearance is 

 much increased by the upright carriage of his head and bill. 

 When a group of these birds is met with in the middle of the 

 desert ice, where all around is grey and cold and white and silent, 

 the richness of their colouring strikes one very forcibly. Their 

 voice is loud and trumpet-like, and rings out in the pack-ice with 

 a note of defiance that makes one feel that man is the real 

 intruder. They have no fear, but an abundance of inquisitiveness, 

 and a party such as I have mentioned will walk up to one with 

 dignity, and stand in a ring all round, with an occasional remark 

 from one to the other, discussing, no doubt, the nature of this new 

 and upright neighbour. That the new beast is a friendly one they 

 appear to have no doubt, and one can only regret that from time 

 to time necessity compelled us to disillusion them. 



In October of 1902 Royds made a sledge journey to Cape 

 Crozier to establish a record there for the relief ship, and it was 

 during this visit that Skelton, who was with him, discovered the 

 Emperor penguins' rookery. The number of birds using it he put 



