78 THE STORY OF BIRD-LIFE. . 



and found that afterwards the old ones went each 

 their way alone, or in Couples, and left the two 

 young ones together, which we cali'd a Marriage.'^ 



Another very remarkable flightless bird is the 

 steamer-duck {Tachyeres cinereus), of the Straits of 

 Magellan. Captain King who has given us a very 

 vivid description of its habits, writes "... be- 

 fore steamboats were in general use, this bird 

 was denominated, from its swiftness in skimming 

 over the surface of the water, the 'race-horse/ 

 . . . It is a gigantic duck, the largest I have met 

 with. . . . The principal peculiarity of this bird 

 is the shortness and remarkably small size of the 

 wings, which not having sufficient power to raise 

 the body, serve only to propel it along, rather 

 than through, the water, and are used like the 

 paddles of a steam-vessel. Aided by these and 

 its strong broad- webbed feet, it moves with 

 astonishing velocity. It would not be an ex- 

 aggeration to state its speed at from twelve to 

 fifteen miles an hour. The peculiar form of the 

 wing, and the short rigid feathers w^hich cover 

 it, together with the povver this bird possesses of 

 remaining a considerable time under water, con- 

 stitutes a strong link between the ducks and the 

 penguins. ... When alarmed^ they lose no time 

 in getting up steam, paddling through the water 

 at a marvellous rate by dint of flapping their 

 little wings, the moiion of which is so excessively 

 rapid that it is difficult to convince one's self 

 that they are not revolving, leaving a long wake 

 of foam like that produced by a miniature steamer 

 behind them. ..." 



Mr Darwin believed that in this paddling 



