THE PENGUIN. 199 



such times, if any one approaches them, they drop off 

 the limbs into the water, as if dead, and for a minute 

 or two are not to be seen, when on a sudden, at a 

 great distance, their long slender heads and necks ap- 

 pear like a snake, rising erect out of the water. When 

 they swim, no part of them is to be seen, except the 

 head and neck, and sometimes the tip of the tail. In 

 the heat of the day, they are seen in great numbers, 

 sailing very high in the air over the lakes and rivers. 



They are exceedingly shy, and cunning in escaping 

 from the gunner. When shot at in the water, they 

 dive at the flash of the gun, and do not come up again, 

 until they get to the distance of several hundred yards ; 

 and it is in vain to try, after having once missed them, 

 to approach within gun shot again. So that the most 

 experienced sportsman is often obliged to give over 

 the day's fowling, without obtaining a single specimen 

 of this bird. 



THJE PENGUIN. 



The Penguin seems to hold the same place among 

 the water birds, that the ostrich does among the land 

 birds. Both of them have wings, but neither of them 

 can fly. The ostrich is the swiftest runner among the 

 land animals, and the Penguin outswims all the feath- 

 ered tribes. The Penguins walk erect, when they 

 walk at all, but their legs are so short, that their gait 

 is rather a waddle than a walk. Their clothing of 

 feathers is extremely thick and warm. They sit erect 



