oF SPHENISCIDAE 55 
The horny sheath of the maxilla is composed of from three to 
five more or less distinct pieces, while the powerful bill may be 
long, thin, and shghtly decurved, as in Aptenodytes and Pygosceles ; 
shorter and pretty broad, as in Hudyptes ; or very stout, short, 
and compressed, as in Spheniscus, where the prominent hook of the 
culmen overhangs a truncated mandible. The three metatarsals 
are not completely fused as in other birds (p. 10), the scutellated 
metatarsus itself being shorter and broader than in any other 
Family, except the Fregatidae; the legs are set far back, the tibia 
is hardly visible, and the short thick toes are directed forwards, 
the small hallux alone having no web. Even more striking 
are the wings, which are totally devoid of normally-developed 
quills, though the number of feathers is very large, the primaries 
themselves amounting to about thirty-six; these flippers or 
paddles have highly compressed bones with no power of flexure, 
but work freely from the shoulder in rotatory fashion, requiring 
a corresponding increase of strength in the muscles of the neigh- 
bouring parts. The numerous rectrices are fairly long and stiff 
in Aptenodytes, Pygosceles, and Hudyptes, but shorter in Spheniscus, 
having considerably reduced vanes. On the body we find no 
naked tracts, but a uniform covering of small scale-like feathers, 
with or without barbs, and an equally uniform distribution of 
down both in adults and young; the moult, moreover, is accom- 
plished in an exceptional manner, the plumage being shed in 
masses, and that of the wing gradually flaking off above the new 
coat. The process apparently occupies about ten days.t Long 
superciliary crests occur in Hudyptes, the mandible is more or less 
feathered in Aptenodytes and Pygosceles, and the metatarsi are 
clothed besides in A. forsteri. The fureula is U-shaped, the syrinx 
tracheo-bronchial, the tongue rudimentary, an after-shaft is present, 
and the plentiful subcutaneous fat produces a marketable oil. 
Penguins” have been said to derive their name from the Latin 
pinguis (fat) or the English “ pin-wing,” 7.c. pimioned wing, but 
such nautical appellations are usually obscure. The French term 
them “ Manchots.” These birds rest on the whole metatarsus, the 
bill usually pointing upwards ; their gait on land is ludicrous, but 
often fast, a vertical position being generally preserved, while they 
endeavour to waddle along on their toes with constant flapping 
of the pinions, every now and then partially losing their balance 
TPAC Ds Bartlett, P.Z.S. 1879, p. 6: 2 Cf. Gare-fowl (Alcidae), infra. 
