42 NicHOLLS, Noies on the Crested Penguin. [isf'juiy 



an oily track left in the water. On the surface the legs and 

 feet of the bird only are used for paddling; under the water they 

 are stretched out straight behind, and act as a rudder for side 

 to side, sinking, and rising movements. The skin on the under 

 surface of the feet is dark coloured. When the bird is swimming 

 beneath the water, with feet outstretched, this dark under surface 

 is uppermost, and so matches with the rest of the dark dorsal 

 plumage. While in the water the white breast and abdomen of 

 the bird are seldom seen, being only exposed when the Penguin 

 lays over on one side and leisurely scratches its head with its 

 foot, as it quietly floats on the surface. 



The Penguin at Lome soon became a favourite with the 

 visitors, and was christened " Billy." He became so tame that 

 the children used to take him up in their arms and carry him 

 from place to place. He would eat raw meat, but was mostly 

 fed upon fishes. Sometimes these were the little mountain 

 minnows {Galaxias)^ caught in the streams of Lome. But more 

 often sea fish were given. On several occasions the local 

 fishermen drew their nets on the beach, and live fish were 

 secured and liberated in the sea-bath. Then " Billy " and the 

 onlookers had an exciting time. The turns and twists of the 

 bird were wonderful, but, as Mr. Dove has remarked, there was 

 no appearance of violent action. The rate of speed was very 

 rapid, but the movements of the wing-flappers gave no true 

 indication of this. They were used in a leisurely, deliberate 

 manner, and at times, as the bird sped onwards, were poised 

 and held motionless for a few seconds, exactly in the same way 

 as those of a swiftly-flying Mutton-Bird. In fact, the whole 

 action of the bird whilst swimming is best described as flying 

 under water. Some of the fish liberated in the bath were sea 

 salmon-trout, lO to 14 inches in length. These "Billy" did 

 not attempt to touch, but he pursued them round and round in 

 a curious, half-frightened manner. Two smaller fish, however, 

 each about 6 inches long, he drove at with his beak, striking 

 them on the body and stunning them; afterwards they were 

 promptly swallowed. We were disappointed in the swallowing 

 capacity of the bird. A 6-inch fish was the most he was able to 

 manage at one gulp. From " Billy's " size and appearance we 

 fully expected to see a 12-inch salmon-trout taken with ease ; 

 but these larger fish had to be cut in pieces. A curious fact is 

 that Penguins can see small objects floating on the surface only 

 when beneath them, and, when searching for the food we threw 

 him, " Billy " always dived, and, seeing the morsel floating on 

 the water, shot up to the surface and secured it. A piece of 

 fish might be thrown to him, and although he heard it splash 

 within a foot or two of his body, and searched about, he never 

 once saw the food until he had dived and got beneath it. 



When coming out of the bath, "Billy" made use of some 



