ORDER IMPENNES. 
Fam. SPHENISCIDZ. 
769. SpHENtscus Demursus (Linn.). Cape Penguin. 
The whole plumage is of a stiff character, resembling strips of 
whalebone. The wings are mere paddles for progression under 
water, and are incapable of flight—the feet placed so far back as to 
cause the bird to appear always falling backwards if it attempts to 
stand on dry land. This singular bird is very common on all our 
coasts, swimming to great distances out to sea. It breeds on rocky 
islets, in the months of August, September, and October. Through 
the kindness of our dear and valued friend, the late Admiral Trotter, 
we once had the pleasure of visiting a breeding-place of this bird, 
Seal Island, a lonely rock in the centre of False Bay. It can only 
be approached in certain winds, as the surf breaks on it with great 
violence. The Penguins occupy the lower ledges by hundreds, 
having dug their holes among the rocks. As we walked over the 
stones, the birds rushed out at us, snapping at our legs, and 
drawing blood plentifully from the naked feet of the sailors, in 
defence of their one large solitary white ege, which is laid on 
the bare ground, without any protection from the damp—axis, 2”9’"; 
diam., 2’”’—abruptly pointed at the small end. When not sitting on 
their eggs, they stand upright on the rocks in long rows, balanced 
on their stiff tails. They feed exclusively on fish, which they 
overtake beneath the surface by their swiftness in swimming. 
Mr. Rickard records it both from Port Elizabeth and Hast 
London. Mr. Andersson writes as follows: “This is the only 
description of Penguin found on the south-west coast of Africa; but 
if this coast-line lacks variety in this genus, the deficiency is in some 
measure compensated by the great abundance of this particular 
species, which is found on almost all parts of the coast from the 
Cape of Good Hope to Walwich Bay. How much further it may 
extend to the north I cannot say. This species is known to sea- 
faring men as the ‘ Jackass Penguin,’ and its most favourite 
