DOMESTIC LIFE 



When the chicks are small they are kept com- 

 pletely covered by the parent who sits on the nest. 

 They grow, however, at an enormous rate, gobbling 

 vast quantities of food as it is brought to them, 

 their elastic bellies seeming to have no limit to their 

 capacity (Fig. 59) ; indeed, when standing, they 

 rest on a sort of tripod, formed by the protuberant 

 belly in front and the two feet behind. 



I weighed a chick at intervals for some time, and 

 this was the astonishing result : 



Ounces 



The egg. . ., . . 4 '56 



The chick when hatched 3-00 



Five days old . . . 13-00 



Six ... . 15-75 



Eight . '.,,., . 24-75 



Nine '. '.. . 28-50 



Eleven . Y ; . 37*75 



Twelve . '' ,. . . 42-50 



To see an Adelie chick of a fortnight's growth 

 trying to get itself covered by its mother is a most 

 ludicrous sight. The most it can hope for is to get 

 its head under cover, the rest of its body being 

 exposed to the air; but the downy coat of the chick 

 is close and warm, and suffices in all weathers to 

 protect it from the cold. Fig. 60 illustrates what 



95 



