,ADELIE PENGUIN—LEVICK. ral 
For a great part of the season there was some half mile or so of this sea-ice 
intervening between the rookery and the open water, and this stretch presented a lively 
scene as the thousands of birds, in parties, passed to and fro over it, the outward bound 
parties of dirty birds from the rookery passing the spruce bathers, homeward bound 
after their meal and frolic in the sea. 
To watch these parties was interesting and instructive. On leaving their nests 
the birds made their way down to the ice-foot (Pls. X, XVI, XVII) on ie themueacice: 
Here generally they would wait about and join up with others until enough had 
gathered together to make a little party, which would then gaily set off for fin: water. 
They were now in the greatest possible spirits, chattering loudly and frolicking with 
one another from time to time, playfully chasing each other about, or indulging in a 
little friendly sparring with their flippers. Arrived at length at the water's edge, the 
same procedure was almost always gone through. 
The object of every bird in the party seemed to be to get one of the others to 
enter the water first, and they would crowd up to the very edge of the ice, trying by 
various tricks to push each other in. As a closely packed bunch of birds stood on 
the brink, those behind would try to rush the front rank over, who then, barely 
recovering themselves, would rush round to the rear and endeavour to turn the tables 
on the others. Occasionally one would actually get pushed in, only, by a lightning 
turn under water, to bound out again on to the ice, with a movement so quick as to 
resemble an indiarubber ball hitting the water and bouncing out again. 
Then for some time they would chase one another about, seemingly bent on 
having a game, but each bird intent on avoiding being the first in. Sometimes this 
would last a few minutes only, but often for an hour or so, until suddenly one of 
the number started to run at full tilt along the edge of the ice, the rest following 
closely on his heels, until at last he took a clean header into the water. One after 
another the rest of the party followed him, each one taking off from the spot where he 
had entered, and following one another so quickly as to have the appearance of a lot 
of shot poured out of a bottle into the water. The accompanying photographs 
(Pls. XI, XII) show this latter scene being enacted. Then for a few seconds not a 
ripple would be made, and a dead silence ensue, till they would all appear some twenty 
or thirty yards out and start rolling about and splashing in the water, cleaning them- 
selves and making a noise that resembled a lot of boys calling out and chatting one 
another. Seemingly reluctant as they had been to enter the water, when once there 
they evinced every sign of enjoyment, and would stay in for hours at a time. 
From what I have said it will be seen that the penguins spent a great deal of time 
on their way to and from the water, especially during the earlier period before the 
sea-ice had broken away from the ice-foot, as they had so far to walk before arriving 
at the open leads. 
As a band of spotless bathers, returning to the rookery, their white breasts and 
black backs glistening in the sunlight, met a dirty and bedraggled party on its way 
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