THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



197 



A Romance in the Life of the Little Pensuin. 



By J. R. KiNGHORN. 



IT is seldom that the Little Penguin 

 {Euchjptula minor) comes as far north 

 as Sydney to breed, though occasional 

 specimens have been found nesting on 

 Cabbage Tree Island at the entrance to 

 Port Stephens. This story is about a 

 pair which made their temporary home 

 at Collaroy Beach, a well-known and 

 much frequented seaside resort about 

 six miles north of Manly. 



A little over a year ago, Mr. and Mrs. 

 Penguin swam northwards along the 

 coast of New South Wales, in search of 

 a suitable locality in which to make 

 their home. One morning towards the 

 end of August, 1921, they rounded the 

 headland at the southern end of Col- 

 laroy Beach and landed to inspect the 

 site. They did not look round for long, 

 however, as their attention was directed 

 to a fine house situated at the top of a 

 sandhill almost on the beach. The 

 gate being open they waddled up the 

 pathway and round the house to the 

 back verandah, where they decided to 

 boldly announce their presence and 

 demand accommodation. They evi- 

 dently regarded themselves as of suffi- 

 cient importance to be able to " enter 

 without knocking,"' and they made 

 straight for the hall, but lo! a screen 

 door barred the way, and, as further 

 advance was impossible, they sat down 

 on their haunches and serenaded the 

 inhabitants with all the weird cries and 

 noises that are known only to penguins, 

 keeping their concert going until the 

 desired result was obtained. Mrs. 

 Brown, the owner of the house, went to 

 see what the unearthly noise was, and, 

 as soon as she opened the door, in 

 rushed Mr. and Mrs. Penguin ; once 

 well inside they announced their names 

 in loud voices and shouted at the 

 occupants in a way which suggested 

 that they were telling them to get out, 

 as they were going to occupy the house ; 

 furthermore, they scolded Mrs. Brown 



She at first resented mv interference and 

 was alarmed at the size of the camera. 



[Photo. — J. R. Kinghorn. 



and her friends when they were told to 

 be quiet or they would be thrown out. 

 At this threat the penguins changed 

 their attitude and became frivolous, 

 danced about, waved their little wings, 

 and squealed for forgiveness. 



After a short time, Mrs. Brown 

 decided that they had outworn their 

 welcome and put them outside ; they 

 disappeared for the time being, evi- 

 dently going down to the sea for their 

 lunch ; but that house was to be their 

 home, and, as they could not get inside, 

 they went underneath, as far under as 

 they could get, to a place where it would 

 be impossible to disturb them without 

 taking part of the side of the house 

 down, and there they made their nest. 

 The noise every night made by the 

 penguins was almost unbearable ; they 

 would scream at each other in anger, 

 they would cackle with laughter, or 

 they would sing songs of thanksgiving 

 for the tAvo little youngsters which were 

 eventually hatched from the eggs after- 

 a vigil of about six weeks. 



