60 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



Ei(di/ptiila, on .•ici'ount, of several important anatomical cliaraeters, among which Is 

 tilt' absence of a tracheal septiini. 



The South African s|iecies, .s'. (kinersits, is one of the ohlest known members of the 

 order. It is slate-colored above, white underneath ; a face-mask, offset from the rest of 

 head by a broad white band, is blackish, an<l so is a narrow collar which continues 

 down along the sides of the body, a d;irk strijio separated from the dark color of the 

 back by a continuation of the white band of the heatl. 



Professor Moseley, of the 'Challenger' exjiedition, gives the following account of a 

 visit to a rookery of this bird at Seal Island, Cape of Good Hope. "It is a more shel- 

 ving rock, on which it is only possible to land on very favorable occasions. The birds 

 here nested on the o])en rock, which was fully exposed to the burning sun and occa- 

 sional rain. There was not a blade of gra.ss on the rock, but it was covered with 

 guano, with little pools of filthy green water. The birds nested under big stones 

 wherever there was place for them. Host of the nests were, however, (luite in the 

 oj)en. The nests were formed of small .'^tones and shells of a liaktnits, oi which there 

 wore heaps washed up by the surf, and of old bits of wood, nails, and bits of rope, 

 picked up about the ruins of a hut which were rotting on the island, together with an 

 old sail, some boat's spars, and bags of guano, evidently left Ijchind by guano-seekers. 

 The object of thus making the nest is no doubt to some extent to secure drainage in 

 case of rain, and to keep the eggs out of water washing over the rocks; but the birds 

 evidently have a sort of m.igpie-like delight in curiosities. Sjifieiiiscus nuKjcllnnicus, 

 at the Falkland Islands, similarly collects variously colored pebbles at the mouth of its 

 burrow. Two ])airs of the birds had built inside the ruins of the hut. 



"All the birds fought furiously, ;md were very hanl to kill. They make a noise 

 very like the braying of donkeys, — hence their name ; they do not hop, but run or wad- 

 dle. They do not lea]) out of the water like the crested penguin, when swimming, but 

 merely come to the surface and sit there like ducks for a while, and dive again." 



A nearly allied but (|uite distinct s])ecies, Sj-ilteiiiscHS mcu/elhtiiiciis, easily recog- 

 nized by the double black band across the breast, is found at the southern end of 

 South America, and is ))articularly well known from the Falkland Islands and South 

 Georgia. .\n extremely interesting account of this s]>ecies, which also is known as the 

 jackass penguin, and its habits at the latter locality, was iiublished last year by Dr. Will, 

 who, during a year's sojourn at the German polar station there, 188'J-'83, enjoyed un- 

 usual f)pportunities for the study of these birds. We translate his acc(unit in full, as 

 it jirobably is the most complete description of the habits of birds the home of which 

 is so remote from regularly inhabited localities. 



" Much more droll than the fi-rocious looking ' rock-hop]ier' and the solemn king 

 penguin, is the jackass penguin, which in size (about 70 cm.) agrees with the former. 



" The area covered liy our excursions embraced six colonies, one of which was occu- 

 jiied by thousand of ]ienguins; these, together with the frequent occurrence of these 

 animals on the beach at the station, afforded good opportunity for studying thoroughly 

 these (pu'cr birds, so singularly ada])ted for aipiatii- life. 



" At the beginning of ()ctol)er the penguins were almost exclusively seen on the 

 beach, crowded together and taking it easy after the copious meal, some of them in a 

 staniling ])osition, others laying ibiwn with the hea<l under one of the wings. Before 

 long, however, they became more lively, and, tottering over the snowy slo])es in long 

 rows, went in scai-cli of ilie higher parts of the valleys opening into the b.ay, apparently 

 most pUaseil with grass-clad and (lat ground. 



