246 LECTURE VI. 



the largest of all is called the Patagonian Pen- 

 guin ; it is about the size of a Swan, and of a 

 deep or blackish ash colour above, and white be- 

 neath : the head is black, and the beginning of 

 the neck marked by a yellow collar, descending 

 on each side from the eyes. It is an inhabitant 

 of the Magellanic seas ; the other species of Pen- 

 guin are also natives of the Antarctic regions, and 

 are in general about the size of a common Duck. 

 The generic character of the Penguins consists in 

 having a strong but rather narrow bill, slightly 

 bent towards the tip, nostrils linear, and wings 

 useless for flight ; all the four toes placed forwards. 

 There is a European bird, occasionally seen on 

 our own coasts, which a beginning ornithologist 

 might be inclined to suppose a Penguin ; and 

 which indeed is often called the northern Penguin. 

 Its colour is black above, and white beneath, and 

 its size that of a Goose. In the shortness of its 

 wings, and its general appearance, it greatly re- 

 sembles a true Penguin ; but belongs to a dif- 

 ferent genus, called Alca or Av.'k, and is the Alca 

 impennis of Linnaeus. It is the only bird of its 

 genus that is incapable of flight ; the rest of the 

 Awks flying with great strength. The generic 





