132 



Soiitlicni ( ^ross. 



"Tlic Aiitaictic Skua-Oull {Majalf atria maccor micki) avrWed on the 

 siinif (lay as tin- I'cn.u'uin.s, sin;^'ly at first; a few days alter in f,'reaL 

 n>inil>rrs. They arc of a light brown coloui' and measure nearly five 

 feet from tij» to li]* of the winf^s. Being of a most i»redatory nature, 

 they played great havoe among tlic eggs and young of tlie renguin. 

 Indi-ed, "they may be said to live entirely u})on them during tlie 

 bn-eding season, for, whenever there are Tenguins, the Skua-Gulls are 

 not far away. On November the 2nd the Penguins commenced to 

 lav their ef»"S. Two is the numlter laid, and an interval of three 

 days elapses between the laying of (he first and second egg. They 



COLLECTING THE EGGS OF THE ADELIA PENGUIN IN THE SPRING. 

 (By jiermission nf Sir Ocirge Xeivncs, Bart.) 



are white, and average from two to more than three inches in length, 

 and from one and a half to two inches in breadth ; some are almost 

 si)herical in shajje. The shell is thick, and the inside has a greenish 

 tint ; the yolk is comparatively small, the contents of the shell 

 being mostly albumen. "We collected some 4,000 of these eggs for 

 dietary purposes and i)acked them in salt. They were a luxurious 

 adflition to our larder; being utterly devoid of any strong flavour, 

 they were greatly relished. Tlie i)oor Penguins, when robbed, looked 

 extremely disconsolate ; however, there was some consolation to be 

 derived from the fact that we were not the only thieves, for the 

 nipacions Skua-Gull would walk up to a Penguin in the most 



