THE SEA-BIRDS. aF3 
of the meal. Finally, some grebes swam into the space cir- 
cumscribed by the half-circle, before it was too much enclosed, 
and took their share of the feast, plunging frequently after 
the frightened fish. When all were satisfied, the whole com- 
pany assembled on the shore while the work of digestion was 
going on. The pelicans smoothed their plumage, and bent back 
their long necks to rest them on their backs, their colossal 
forms in strong contrast with the little gulls. The troop 
comprised birds of all ages; some were entirely white, some 
streaked, and some grey. Now and then, one of these birds 
would empty his well-filled pouch, spread the contents before 
him, and enjoy the contemplation of it. Those fish that were 
still struggling soon had their heads crushed by one stroke of 
the beak.” 
Cormorants have a pouch of the same kind as the pelicans, 
but much less developed. The Chinese train these birds, and 
employ them in fishing. They put tight rings round their necks 
to prevent their swallowing the prey that they seize, but when 
the birds have worked for some time for their masters, the 
rings are taken off, and the cormorants are allowed to fish on 
their own account. 
There are some aquatic birds possessing neither a guttural 
pouch, nor a sharp bill, which feed on shell-fish, and when these 
fish are tightly barricaded and shut up in an impenetrable shell, 
they have the sense to carry them high up in the air, and let 
them fall on a rock to break them open. 
Petrels, which eat nothing but fish, become so oily that the 
inhabitants of the Faroe Islands kill them and put a wick through 
their bodies, thus using the bird as a lamp. 
Many fish-devouring birds are full of fat, which is hardly in a 
state of consistency ; this is due to the food they eat. From this 
circumstance certain kinds are called Penguins, from the Latin 
pinguis, signifying oily. On the coasts of Patagonia, where 
they are abundant, these birds are stripped of their skin ; under 
the skin is a lining of fat; by means of a heavy weight all 
the oil is expressed, and nothing left but the down and outer 
cuticle. Nearly a pint of oil is thus obtained from each bird. 
It would take 2,000 of these penguins to supply a tun of oil. 
