THE PENGUINS 285 



alongside its mate and pushes it off the nest, covering the egg at 

 once. This is done to prevent the sea hawks, which are always 

 hovering round, from eating the eggs. The yellow-eyed penguin 

 breeds under logs of wood or among tussock-grass, only a few 

 pairs living together; while Eudyptida and Splieniscus make 

 their nests in holes. 



During the breeding season, the king penguin, as well as the 

 species of Pygoscelis and Catarrhactes, collect in large numbers, 

 and form rookeries, which have often been described; but the 

 other species do not do so. There are no large rookeries on the 

 Auckland or Campbell Islands, nor among the West Coast Sounds 

 of New Zealand. Spheniscus breeds in holes, as a defence, no 

 doubt, against predaceous mammals, in South Africa, South 

 America, and Australia; but that cannot be the object in New 

 Zealand. It is only those genera living on islands, or on the 

 Antarctic Continent, that form rookeries ; and there is an inter- 

 mediate stage, represented by Megadyptes, and sometimes by 

 Catarrhactes, which inhabits islands, but does not collect 

 together in large numbers. From this, it may be inferred that 

 the habit of forming rookeries is a late one, induced probably 

 as a defence against seals. 



Penguins that live in rookeries spend about eight months on 

 or near the shore, and four months at sea, when the breeding 

 grounds are c[uite deserted ; but they do not seem to go far away, 

 as they are rarel.y seen more than fifty miles from land. 



The times of breeding are not yet well known. The blue 

 penguin is the first, and commences in the early part of 

 September, while the white-fiippered penguin does not begin until 

 October. In the Antipodes and Bounty Islands the big-crested 

 penguin comes to the land in September, the tufted penguin 

 arriving at the Antipodes a little later ; and they leave in May or 

 June, w^hen the young are suf^ciently strong to undertake a sea 

 voyage. Dr. H. Filhol says that in Campbell Island the tufted 

 penguin begins to lay early in November, while in Kerguelen 

 Island it does not arrive until then, and commences to lay about 

 December. In the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam they are 

 said to be much earlier, arriving in July, and leaving for the sea 



