Birds of the South Orkney Islands. 165 



are otherwise mature in plumage and in the dimensions of 

 their bills. 



The two younger birds are, there can be little doubt, 

 birds of the year, and their presence seems to point to the 

 South Orkneys being their native land, for it is difficult 

 to believe that birds only a few weeks old could have 

 accomplished the rough sea-passage of 600 miles from their 

 nearest- known breeding-station at South Georgia. 



The three older specimens, though not fully adult, are 

 probably about a year old, though whether this species breeds 

 at such an age is uncertain. 



None of these birds were observed in the autumn of 1903, 

 when the Expedition arrived, and their appearance in the 

 summer of 1904 was a surprise to the explorers. 



The first specimen, a male, was captured on January 7th 

 in a big Penguin-rookery at Scotia Bay, where it was found 

 amongst a crowd of P. adelice. Ten days later a female 

 was secured in exactly the same place ; and on the 29th 

 of January another male, just below where the previous 

 captures had been made. These three were the not fully 

 adult birds alluded to, and the place where they were takeu 

 was so frequently visited that it is thought to be most 

 unlikely that they could have been bred there without 

 being detected. 



One of the younger birds was taken higher up in the 

 same rookery on December 29th, and the other was captured 

 on the beach on February 6th. Both were males. 



Regarding the age of these specimens I was somewhat 

 uncertain, and sought the assistance of my friend Dr. A. E. 

 Wilson, of the ' National' Expedition, who has had consider- 

 able personal experience with the allied Catarrhactes schleyeli, 

 and whose aid it is a pleasure to acknowledge. 



In connection with the occurrence of this species at the 

 South Orkneys, it is well to recall the fact that Capt. C. A. 

 Larsen, of the Norwegian sealer ' Jason/ informed Dr. 

 Donald *, of the whaler f Active/ that he saw a rookery of 

 Crested Penguins on the South Orkneys. These birds he 

 . Proc. Roy. Phys. Sue. Edinburgh, xii. p. 335. 



