58 



SPHENISCIFORMES 



CHAP. 



guins or Eock-hoppers, of which E. chrysocomr, figured below, 

 extends southwards and eastwards from the Falklands through the 

 Indian Ocean and Antarctic seas to the coasts of New Zealand 

 and the neighbouring islands. It is bluish -black with white 

 lireast and belly, and a fine orange crest on each side of the crown, 

 from which a broad golden streak passes over the eye to the base 

 of the maxilla. E. chrysolophns, a rarer bird of somewhat similar 

 range, has the forehead yellow instead of black. E. chrysocome 

 nidificates on elevated slopes, usually near fresh water, in which it 

 delights to bathe, the nest being either a mere depression in the 





Fig. 17. Eock-hoppers. Eudyptes chrysocome. (From Thomson's Atlantic.) 



bare earth or a slight structure of plant-stems and leaves. This is 

 at times perfectly exposed, but is not unfrequently among boulders 

 or under the shade of tussocks of grass as high as a man's head, 

 the filthy breeding-places being intersected by beaten pathways 

 formed by the constant passage of troops to and from the sea. 

 The parent is said to sit almost perpendicularly, with the eggs 

 closely applied to a naked space in the centre of the abdomen, but 

 it should be mentioned that some observers state that the breast 

 is lowered until it nearly touches the ground, though there seems 

 to be little doulit that the position is at least half upright in the 

 case of Penguins generally. Like other species, Eock-hoppers 

 swim chiefly below the surface of the sea, coming into view only 



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