132 



Southern Cross. 



" The Antarctic Skua-Gull {Mcgalestris maccormicM) arrived on the 

 same day as the Penguins, singly at first ; a few days after in great 

 numbers. They are of a light brown colour and measure nearly five 

 feet from tip to tip of the wings. Being of a most predatory nature, 

 they played great havoc among the eggs and young of the Penguin. 

 Indeed, they may be said to live entirely upon them during the 

 breeding season, for, whenever there are Penguins, the Skua-Gulls are 

 not far away. On November the 2nd the Penguins commenced to 

 lay their eggs. Two is the number laid, and an interval of three 

 days elapses between the laying of the first and second egg. They 



COLLECTING THE EGGS OF THE ADELIA PENGUIN IN THE SPBING. 

 (^By permission of Sir George Xewnes, Bart.) 



are white, and average from two to more than three inches in length, 

 and from one and a half to two inches in breadth ; some are almost 

 spherical in shape. The shell is thick, and the inside has a greenish 

 tint ; the yolk is comparatively small, the contents of the shell 

 being mostly albumen. We collected some 4,000 of these eggs for 

 dietary purposes and packed them in salt. They were a luxurious 

 addition to our larder; being utterly devoid of any strong flavour, 

 they were greatly relished. The poor Penguins, when robbed, looked 

 extremely disconsolate; however, there was some consolation to be 

 derived from the fact that we were not the only thieves, for the 

 rapacious Skua-Gull would walk up to a Penguin in the most 



