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CHAPTER XI. 



PENGUINS FIN-WINGED. "ivING PENGUIN OF THE SOUTHERN 



REGIONS DESCRIBED BREEDING-PLACES VALUABLE FOR 



OIL. SEA-FOWLER'S PERILOUS OCCUPATION DESCRIPTION OF, 

 IN SHETLAND, ST. KILDA, ETC. SINGULAR ESCAPES FATAL 



ACCIDENTS. 



HITHERTO we hare considered birds as more or less 

 inhabitants of the air, gifted with wings for that 

 purpose : it remains for us to speak of two families, 

 possessing indeed wings, but too small to assist them 

 in flight, and used, therefore, only as fish use their 

 fins, for giving them additional powers on, or beneath 

 the surface of the water, where they pass the greater 

 part of their existence. They are the Penguins, pro- 

 perly so called, and the Aptenodytes, a word com- 

 pounded from the Greek, signifying wingless divers; 

 for although the wings of the former scarcely deserve 

 the name, they are nevertheless covered to a certain 

 degree with feathers, whereas those of the latter are 

 only furnished with vestiges of feathers, at first sight 

 much resembling fish-scales. 



The Penguins are chiefly confined to the coldest 

 regions of the northern or southern hemispheres. 

 The rapidity with which these birds fly, if it may 

 be so termed, under water, after fish, is quite 

 astonishing. One which was caught in the Orkney 

 Islands, at first refused all food, and became so weak, 

 that it was expected to die: at length, however, it 

 was tempted to eat, and being plentifully supplied 

 with fish, soon resumed its strength and activity. 



