THE GUILLEMOT. 



t-i-j 



The females hatch their eggs by keeping them close between their thighs ; and it' 

 approached during the time of incubation, move away, carrying their eggs with them. At 

 tliis time the male bird goes to sea and collects food for the female, which becomes very 

 fat. After the young is hatched, both parents go to sea and bring back food for it : it 

 soon becomes so fat as scarcely to be able to walk, the old birds getting very thin. They 

 sit quite upright in their roosting-places and walk in the erect position until they arrive 

 at the beach, when they throw themselves on their breasts in order to encounter the very 

 heavy sea met with at their landing-places." 



There is only a single egg, and its colour is greyish white. The young are covered 

 with puffy grey wool. As the bird walks or rather shuffles along, the body gives a half 

 turn at every step and the feet cross each other. When, however,- the Penguin is hurried, 

 it throws itself on its breast, uses its wings as fore-feet, and runs so quickly that it might 

 be mistaken for a quadruped by any one who was not accustomed to the bird and its 

 habits. Captain Fitzroy gives an amusing account of the manner m which the Penguins 

 feed their young. "The old bird gets on a little eminence and makes a great noise 

 between quacking and braying, holding its head up in the air as if it were haranguing 

 the peuguinnery, while the young one stands close to it, but a little lower. The old bird, 

 having continued its chatter for about a minute, puts its head down and opens its mouth 

 widely, into which the young one thrusts its head and then appears to suck from the 

 throat of its mother for a minute or two, after which the chatter is again repeated and the 

 young one is again fed. This continues for about ten minutes." 



The colouring of the King Penguin is as follows : The upj^er part of the head and the 

 throat are black, round which runs a broad band of light golden yellow, becoming 

 narrower as it passes to the middle of the throat, and then taking a turn to each side 

 untU it is lost in the silvery white of the under surface. Tlie back is dark bluish grey, 

 and the under surface pure silvery white, the feathers being extremely thick and set upon 

 each other after a peculiar fashion that preserves the bird from cold and wet. During 

 life, the base of the under mandible is rich warm purple and the rest of the beak is black. 

 The front of the throat is in some request on account of its bright colouring, and is 

 occasionally made into waistcoats and slippers. The total length of the King Penguin is 

 about three feet, so that it is a reaUy large bird, the tail being almost absent and 

 consequently adding little to the measurement. 



There are many species of Penguins, among which the Crested Penguin {Eudypes 

 chrysocoma) is perhaps the handsomest, its bright golden crest, which can be erected at 

 pleasure, giving it a very conspicuous appearance. It is also a Patagonian species. The 

 Penguins are very noisy birds, and the loud chorus of their voices can be heard at a great 

 distance. Indeed, there are several instances known where the nocturnal cries of these 

 and other sea birds have warned sailors of the rocks on which they were heedlessly 

 rushing. 



The common Guillemot is an example of the next sub-family. 



This bird is found plentifully on our coasts throughout the year, and may be seen 

 swimming and diving with a skill little inferior to that of the divers. It can, however, 

 use its legs and wings tolerably well, and is said to convey its young from the rocks on 

 which it is hatched, by taking it on the back and flying down to the water. 



Mr. Yarrell remarks, that " about the middle of May, the common Guillemot, with 

 many other species of birds, frequenting rocks at that season, converge to particular 

 points, where, from the numbers that congregate and the bustle apparent among them, 

 confusion of interests and localities might be expected ; but on the contrary, it wOl be 

 found that the Guillemots occupy one station or line of ledges upon the rock ; the razor- 

 bills another, the puffins a third, the kittiwake gulls a fourth ; wliUe the most inaccessible 

 pinnacles seem to be left for the use of the lesser black -backed and the herring grdls. 

 Two distinct species scarcely ever breed by the side of each other." 



The Guillemot laj's one egg, singularly variable in colour. I possess several eggs, all 

 unlike, and Mr. Champley has five hundred, no two of which are similar, the ground 

 colouring being of every shade from pure white to intense red, and from pale stone-colom- 



