KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 40. N:0 5. 87 



Pygoscelis papua (Forster) itki. 



Syn.: Aptenodytes papua Forster, 1781. 

 Pygoscelis » Cray, 1840. 

 Ei/flt/ ptes » 



Aptenodyfös Uzniata Peale, 1848. 

 Pygoscelis wagléri Sclater, 1860. 



J\ 2, 2, Moraine Fjord, Cnmberland Bay tlie 6th of May 1905. »Tiis light brown.» 



pull. Boiler Havbouv. Oumtaerland Bay, tlie T t Ii of Dee. 1904. 



J 1 , 2, Moraine Fjord, Cnmberland Bay, tlie 6th of May 1905 



3 eggs tlie same locality tlie 2 1 1 Ii und 24tli of Nov. 1904. — And embryological material. 



This species is the most common penguin on South Georgia, and Sörling found 

 more or less nunierous colonies in all the fjords he visited. A rookery at the Moraine 

 Fjord with about 200 members was mostly studied by him. When he arrived the 

 20th of Nov. 1904 all eggs were laid and the birds sitting. The different nests were 

 usually in a short distance from each other, »hardly 1 m». They consisted of earth, 

 sand, möss and grass (Pl. XII fig. 51). Each nest contained, as a rule, 2 eggs, 

 but some only one. 



The birds defended their eggs boldly, as well with bill as with wings and both 

 left blue marks on the arms and legs of the robber. When Sörling tried to steal 

 an egg from behind, the bird turned round very quickly ready to defence again. 

 When that did not help, but the egg nevertheless was taken away, the deprived 

 m other walked resolutely to the next neighbours nest and stole an egg from it, in 

 spite of the loud protests of the rightful owner. But so peaceful are the members 

 of a rookery of this species inter se, that they never fight each other, as also K. A. 

 Andersson (8) has remarked. Not even to prevent such an openly committe.d crime 

 as the theft of an egg by a neighbour, they will break the peace, although as already 

 mentioned they know to strongly defend themselves against foreign intraders. ' The 

 thief put the egg out of the owners nest by means of her bill and then rolled it on 

 the ground to her own. 



At another opportunity, when Sörling only took one egg, the hen-bird remained 

 quietly sitting on the other, and it does not appear to be a regular habit of the 

 deprived birds to make up for their own loss by stealing from their neighbours, al- 

 though it happened of ten enough. 



Another day Sörling took an egg of the Great Skua and put it in the nest 

 of a penguin which had only one egg. The penguin did not mind that in the least 



1 Eagle Clarke {21) reports tlie opposite from the experienee from tlie Scottish Expedition on tlie 

 South Orkney Islands: »The birds ore somewhat timid; a few of tbose incubating were böld enongh to peck 



at human hitrnders, bnt the majority ran off their nests when approaclied. — They, however, 



fought fiercely among themselves, nsing both wings and bilis, giving some bard smacks and sbarp bites. 

 Such differences in habits in different localities are very peculiar 



