THE KING PENGUIN. OP | 
with a soft down, having something of the appearance of hair, which 
might be taken for scales. Like all the Penguins, this bird is an 
excellent swimmer and incomparable diver, and its coating of down 
is so dense that it even resists a bullet ; it is consequently difficult 
to shoot. 
The shape and appearance of the Penguins indicate their adapta- 
tion to an aquatic life. Their feet are placed at the extremity of the 
body—an arrangement which renders them awkward and heavy when 
ashore, where, in short, they only come to lay and hatch their eggs. 
They begin to assemble in great numbers at the commencement of 
October. ‘Their nests are a very simple construction, for they con- 
tent themselves with a hole in the sand deep enough to contain 
two eggs, but more often one. 
In spite of the limited number of eggs, the quantity of these 
birds found in the south of Patagonia is something prodigious. 
When sailors land in these high latitudes they take or kill as many 
as they choose. Sir John Narborough says, speaking of those at 
the Falkland Islands, that “when the sailors walked among the 
feathered population to provide themselves with eggs, they were 
regarded with sidelong glances.” In many places the shores were 
covered with these birds, and 300 have been taken within an hour; 
for generally they make no effort to escape, but stand quietly by 
while their companions are being knocked down with sticks. 
In another islet, in the Straits of Magellan, Captain Drake’s crew 
killed more than 3,000 in one day. ‘These facts are not exaggerated. 
This island, when visited by these navigators, probably had never 
been pressed previously by a human foot, and the birds had suc- 
ceeded each other from generation to generation in incalculable 
numbers, hitherto free from molestation. 
The Penguins have no fear of man. Mr. Darwin pleasantly 
relates an encounter that he had with one of these birds on the 
Falkland Islands. ‘One day,” he says, “having placed myself 
between a Penguin and the water, I was much amused by the action 
of the bird. It was a brave bird, and, till reaching the sea, it regu- 
larly fought and drove me backwards. Nothing less than heavy 
blows would have stopped him. Every inch gained he kept firmly, 
standing close before me firm, erect, and determined, all the time 
rolling his head from side to side in a very odd manner, as if the 
powers of vision only lay in the anterior and basal part of each eye.” 
There are many species of Penguins, the handsomest probably being 
the Crested Penguin (Zudypes chrysocoma), which is a native of 
Patagonia, and has a very conspicuous appearance. These birds are 
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