224 ORNITHOLOGY OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



enable me to describe all the stages of plumage from the newly hatched chick to the 

 mature bird. 



Although not nearly so numerous as its congener P. adeliae, yet next to that species 

 it was the most abundant of all the birds found at the South Orkneys, where the total 

 number resorting to Laurie and Saddle Islands for the summer is estimated at over 

 one million. 



This species was first seen by the Expedition on February 2nd, 1903, in lat. 60 S., 

 to the north-east of the archipelago. Here a party was observed, some of which were 

 sitting on an iceberg, others on the water. Two clays later the first landing on the 

 islands was effected at Saddle Island, where the explorers met with a vast concourse of 

 these birds, and a number of specimens, young and old, and some eggs were secured. 

 The rookery at this island is believed to be tenanted by not less than 50,000 birds. 



On her return to the South Orkneys in the autumn after the first voyage to the 

 Weddell Sea, the Scotia encountered Ringed Penguins off the east coast of Coronation 

 Island on March 23rd. On March 26th she went into winter-quarters in Scotia Bay, 

 Laurie Island, and there these birds were observed until April 28th, on which date the 

 last of the autumn emigrants were seen. They were entirely absent during the whole 

 of the winter ; and the earliest of the spring immigrants were noticed on November 2nd. 

 On the following day a few more arrived, and the first bird to land walked straight up 

 to a small moraine, picked up a stone, and laid the foundation of its new nest. After 

 this date the immigrants were observed in varying numbers, many arriving on 

 November 9th. 



When walking over hard surfaces to reach their nesting-grounds, it was noticed that 

 the birds maintained an erect position, marching in column of route ; but when they 

 came to soft snow they assumed a prone attitude and propelled themselves by means of 

 their legs ; when ascending a slope, or being chased, they brought their flipper-like 

 wings into play, using them either alternately or synchronously ; and when descending 

 from any height they tobogganed. 



Eight rookeries were found on Laurie Island. The largest of these were at Cape 

 Robertson and Ailsa Craig, each of which contained many thousands of nests. There 

 were two other rookeries almost equal in size, but the rest were smaller, each tenanted 

 by a few hundred birds, and situated at different places on the coast. On some of the 

 off- lying Rudmose and Murray Islands there were jumbled rookeries of Ringed Penguins 

 and Shags (Phalacrocorax atriceps). Dr Pirie tells me that at Cape Robertson and 

 Ailsa Craig the inhabitants of the great bird-cities were solely composed of the ringed 

 species. At Cape Robertson, the birds occupied a strip of the coast about half a mile 

 long extending over the low rocky foreshore and up the gently rising cliffs behind, 

 until the farthest-inland birds must have been a couple of hundred yards from the sea, 

 and at a height of two or three hundred feet above it. He reckoned that on an average 

 there would be about a nest to each square yard, and there could not have been much 

 less than a quarter of a million birds. Here Dr Pirie and two companions took 1000 



