198 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



It was about three or four months 

 after their arrival that they disappeared 

 completely and suddenly, and without 

 one word of thanks or a good-bye to 

 those who had given them a home and 

 put up with all the noise, not to mention 

 the odours which came from beneath 

 the floor boards from decaying food, 

 and the sea weeds of which the nest was 

 made. Where the family spent the 

 winter no one knows, and where they 

 were going to spend this springtime was 

 known only to the penguins initil late 

 this August, when a terrible cackling 

 outside advised Mrs. Brown that they 

 were back again. When the door was 

 opened, Mr. and Mrs. Penguin marched 

 boldly and triumphantly in, followed by 

 two inquisitive and rather shy young- 

 sters. As soon as Mrs. Brown had 

 fully realised that the same pair had 

 returned with their grown chicks, the 

 birds all began to dance round, shouting 

 approval of their recognition. They 

 sang songs, among which could be 

 recognised " Here we are again," and 

 that more disconcerting one " We're 

 here because we're here." They could 

 not be quietened, and the inhabitants 

 of the district came round to see if all 

 was well, or if anyone had gone mad 

 (for I assure you that four penguins 

 voicing their greetings is not an alto- 

 gether pleasant sound). 



The owners of the house put the whole 

 family down on the beach and drove 

 them away, but later, after having 

 driven away the chicks, the parent 

 birds returned and went under the 

 house to the spot which they had 

 occupied the year before. The celebra- 

 tions were so loud and long that next 

 day Mr. Brown decided to take some 

 of the boards down and get the birds 

 out. That night they were taken by 

 car to Palm Beach, a distance of about 

 twelve miles up the coast, and liberated, 

 but next morning saw them back again. 

 I understand that they were taken 

 away a second time, but once more 

 returned, and this time were allowed to 

 stay, but were given a home of their 

 own in the far corner of the garden. A 



Eventually she came up and posed for her 

 photograph. 



[Photo. — J. R. Kingh'jrn. 



large case was turned upside down and 

 placed on two beams, a hole was cut in 

 the fence to allow the birds free access 

 to the beach, and netting was put on the 

 house side to keep them " in their own 

 back yard." Here the couple pro- 

 ceeded to build a nest of sea weeds, and 

 later two eggs were laid. They took it 

 in turns to sit on them, and, if Mr. 

 Penguin stayed out late, he was in for a 

 terrible half-hour when he came home 

 to take his turn on the nest. Then 

 Mrs. Penguin would go out to fish for 

 her dinner or supper, and, as her 

 husband had stopped out beyond his 

 time, she would make up for it by 

 doing likewise ; later when she arrived 

 home, after shouting all the way up the 

 beach, she would be severely scolded 

 and would retaliate, then a noisy argu- 

 ment would result, which would last 

 well through the night. 



After about six weeks two sooty- 

 brown chicks emerged from the eggs, 

 and the noise that night and the next 

 few, while the celebrations lasted, caused 

 many people of the district to shudder, 

 thinking that someone was being ill- 

 treated. During the days that followed, 

 the parent birds took it in turn to fish 

 and swim in the sea, but at night, very 

 often, they would go out together to 

 find a suitable supper somewhere in the 



