THE FASTING PERIOD 



line of arrivals extending unbroken across the sea- 

 ice as far as the eye could see. 



A great many now started to climb the heights 

 up the precipitous side of Cape Adare and to build 

 their nests as far as the summit, a height of some 

 1000 feet, although there was still room for many 

 thousand more down below. What could be their 

 object, considering the wearisome journeys they 

 would have to make to feed their young, it is 

 impossible to say. It might be the result of the 

 same spirit which made them spread out in little 

 scattered groups over the rookery when only a few 

 had arrived, and that they prefer wider room, only 

 putting up with the greater crowding which ensues 

 later as a necessary evil. There is, however, another 

 explanation which I w r ill discuss in another place. 



At 9 P.M. it was getting dusk, and the rookery 

 comparatively silent, although on some of the 

 knolls two or three birds might be seen still busily 

 working, toddling to and fro fetching stones. The 

 other thousands lay at rest, their white breasts flat 

 on the ground, and only their black beaks and 

 heads visible as they lay with their chins stretched 

 forward on the ground, whilst in place of the 

 massed discord of clamour heard during the day, 

 the separate voices of some of the busy ones 



31 



