DOMESTIC LIFE 



a pause in its flight, transfixes an egg upon its beak 

 and carries it to an open space on the ground, there 

 to devour the contents. Here then was another 

 need for constant vigilance, and so daring did the 

 skuas become, that often when a penguin sat on 

 a nest carelessly, so as to leave one of the eggs 

 protruding from under it, a lightning dash from a 

 skua would result in the egg being borne trium- 

 phantly away. 



The bitterness of the penguins' hatred of the skuas 

 was well shown in the neighbourhood of our scrap- 

 heap. None of the food thrown out on to this heap 

 was of the least use to the penguins, but we noticed 

 after a time that almost always there were one or 

 more penguins there, keeping guard against the 

 skuas, and doing their utmost to prevent them from 

 getting the food, and never allowing them to light 

 on the heap for more than a few seconds at a time. 

 In fact, a constant feature of this heap was the 

 sentry penguin, darting hither and thither, aiming 

 savage pecks at the skuas, which would then rise a 

 yard or two into the air out of reach, the penguin 

 squalling in its anger at being unable to follow its 

 enemy. At this juncture the penguin would imitate 

 the flying motion with its flappers, seeming instinc- 

 tively to attempt to mount into the air, as its 



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