PENGUINS. 279 



from land, has been stated to be three hundred 

 miles, but by the observations at noon we were 

 distant full one thousand miles from land ; the 

 nearest being the northernmost island of the Cape 

 de Verd group. The distance at which birds 

 supposed not to wander far from land, are some- 

 times seen, is surprising. Penguins have occa- 

 sionally been met with several hundred miles from 

 land, although they are commonly supposed not to 

 wander from it any considerable distance. An in- 

 telligent lady informed me, that, during a voyage 

 from England to Batavia, in the ship Orynthia, 

 between the Cape and the latter place, a Penguin 

 was shot, being rather more than a foot in length, 

 and of a smooth slate colour over the body, with a 

 white breast, (as well as can be recollected at 

 a distant period,) the ship being then at a dis- 

 tance of eight hundred miles from the Marion 

 or Crozette islands, with fine weather, nearly 

 calm at the time. This occurred on the 22nd of 

 October, 1831. 



Captain Beechey also states, (Voyage to the 

 Pacific and Beering's Strait, 8vo. vol. i. p. 16,) 

 which tends to confirm the above fact, that, ' ' as 

 we approached the Falkland Islands from Rio Ja- 

 neiro, some Penguins were seen upon the water 

 in latitude 47*^ south, at a distance of three hun- 

 dred and forty miles from the nearest land ; a 



