3 iS THE ANIMALS OF THE ANTARCTIC 



with extraordinary rapidity, propelling themselves by their scaly, oar-like, rudi- 

 mentary wings, and steering with their legs and feet. On the surface, however, 

 they swim more slowly, holding the body horizontally, with the head well raised. 

 When on shore — to reach which the aid of beak, wings, and feet is employed — 

 their movements are very awkward, and as they lie basking in the sun they look 

 almost like small seals, more especially when their feet are extended backwards. 

 The young birds are bluish grey above and white below, but later the colour 

 changes to brown on the middle of the head, the nape of the neck, back, and 

 throat, while a broad white stripe makes its appearance on each side of the head, 

 and a narrower band of brown forms a curved belt across the chest, whence it 

 gradually expands on the flanks, to contract again in width as it nears the legs. 

 Nearly allied is Humboldt's penguin (S. humboldii), which breeds on the western 

 coast of South America, and is a slightly larger bird, distinguished by the narrower 

 stripe on the side of the head, and the broader band across the chest. 



A second group is formed by the crested or so-called rock-hopper penguin 

 (Eudyptes clirysocome). These maccaroni penguins, as they are sometimes called, 

 are easily recognised by the plume of golden bristly feathers on each side of the 

 crown of the head. They stand about twenty inches in height, and breed in vast 

 numbers on the Falklands. An interesting fact in connection with the rock- 

 hoppers on those islands is that the smooth surfaces of the hard igneous rocks 

 over which myriads of these penguins have been constantly passing and repassing 

 for centuries are not only highly polished, but are also scored by irregular grooves 

 cut by the sharp claws of these birds. A striking feature in these " rookeries " 

 of penguins is the number of maimed and dying birds to be met with ; these having, 

 for the most part at any rate, been injured by sea-lions. 



Largest of all is the splendid emperor penguin (A2rten0dyt.es forsteri), which 

 stands nearly three and a half feet in height, and has the beak unusually long and 

 slender, but no crest. This magnificent bird is a native of Victoria-land, and breeds 

 farther south than any other member of the family, except perhaps the much 

 smaller Adelia penguin, referred to below. The most extraordinary thing about 

 the emperor penguin is that the females breed in the depth of the Antarctic winter 

 on the pack-ice, where each bird holds its single egg on its feet, where it is 

 incubated by the heat of the lower part of the \>ody of the parent. Should the 

 egg come even in momentary contact with the ice, it immediately freezes and 

 splits, thereby rendering nugatory the cold vigil of the parent bird. 



Another genus is represented by the much smaller Adelia penguin (Pygoscelis 

 adelice), which, unlike the emperor penguin, is a migratory species, met with in 

 vast rookeries during the breeding-season at Cape Adare and other favourite spots. 

 Despite their migratory habits, these penguins never travel far north of the 

 Antarctic circle. They return from their winter sojourn on the pack-ice to the 

 land of the Antarctic continent from September to November, when thousands of 

 them may be seen waddling to and fro between the shore and the water : the new 

 arrivals sordid and dirty, while those returning look as smart and neat as 

 the proverbial new pin. At such times thousands of the Adelias may be seen 

 standing on the edge of the ice preparatory to plunging into the water, which 

 appears to be a matter demanding a considerable amount of consideration. When, 



