402 



SWIMMING BIRDS. 



The King Penguins ( Aptenudytes *} are even less capable of flight 

 than the piireding. Their little wings are covered with apologies 

 for feathers, that rather resemble scales, and their feet, which "are 



FlG. 390. PENGUINS. 



placed further back than those of any other bird, support their 

 weight upon the whole length of the tarsus, which is flattened out 

 like the sole of the foot of a quadruped. Their feet, moreover, have 

 the three front toes completely webbed, and the hinder toe directed 

 inwards. These birds are only met with in the Antarctic seas, and 

 seldom come on shore except to build their nests. 



The family of Long- wings (Longipennes f) compre- 

 hends numerous birds always met with on the 

 wide ocean, and distributed everywhere, so that 

 they are encountered by navigators in all parts of 

 the world. They are to be recognized by having 

 their hind-toe free or else wanting ; by their very 

 long wings, and by their beak, which is without 



* a7TT^j/ apten, unwinged: SUTTJS, dytes, a diver idngless divers. 

 f LonguS, long ; penna, a wing. 



