KEEL-BREASTED BIRDS. 239 



They deposit one egg, that, instead of being placed upon 

 the rocks, is held in a pouch until hatched. During this 

 time they hop along, the feet being close together to hold 

 the egg in ; at other times, when not holding the egg, they 

 walk like other birds. Allied is the jackass -penguin 

 (Spheniscus Magellanicus) of the Cape of Good Hope and 

 Falkland Islands. The former makes nests, for its eggs 

 in the rocks, of stones and shells of balanus that are washed 

 ashore. 



The rock-hopper penguin * (Eudyptes saltator) is found 

 in vast rookeries at Inaccessible Island. Fiona the sides 

 of the head projects backward, like a- quill-pen, a tuft of 

 sulphur-yellow plumes. In the water the wings are used 

 as fins. The nests are shallow depressions, containing 

 two greenish-white eggs, that are incubated by both male 

 and female. 



VALUE. Oil, and the skin as fur. At Heard Island the skins are 

 used as fuel in the winter. 



Order II. Pygopodes. General Characteristics. The 

 birds of this order are aquatic, some with rudimentary 

 wings, that are used almost as fins, and covered with scale- 

 weeks, when the young appear, and during this time are probably fed 

 by the males. The egg is greenish-white and pointed at the end. 



* The rookeries of the rock-hoppers at Inaccessible Island are of 

 vast extent, covering one quarter of the island, and giving shelter to 

 perhaps five hundred thousand birds, and formed in the vast fields 

 of tussock-grass, that is worn out into streets, alleys, and lanes, from 

 three to five feet in width. Along these streets the nests of the pen- 

 guins are placed ; and so fierce are they, and so vast their numbers, 

 that a passage through the bird-city is attended by the greatest danger. 

 From the sea to the rookery a roadway has been worn smooth by the 

 feet of the birds, and up this highway they are seen passing in compa- 

 nies and bands. In the water, their motions are similar to those of a 

 porpoise, leaping from it in a like manner. They are remarkable for 

 their migrations. They leave Inaccessible Island April r$th ; the 

 males return the last of July, the females August I2th. Where they 

 go is net known, and, as there are no landmarks, their return is a won- 

 derful example of instinct, and only comparable to that of the seals. 



