KUNGI. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 40. N:0 5. 89 



2 pull. the same locality and date. »Iris greyish brown.s 



2 P" 11 (ef. ?) the same locality, the llth of March 1905. 



$ (skeleton) Boiler Harbour, Cumberland Bay the 12th of Jan. L905 



4 eggs, Antarctic Bay, the lltli of March 1905. 



The King Pengiiin (Pl. XII fig. 47 & 48) is not only a very stately bird but 

 also a very interesting bird from a biological point of view. To begin with, its 

 breeding habits appear to be singularly irragul&r. The German Expedition 1882—83 

 found one or perhaps two rookeries of King Penguins near Roy al Bay (12). The 

 Swedish Expedition 1902 did not observe any birds of this kind at South Georgia (8). 

 Neither Cumberland 1 nor Royal Bay appeared to be inhabited by King Penguins 

 1904—1905. But when Captain C. A. Larsen the lOth of March ran into Antarctic 

 Bay to seek shelter for his whaling steamer against a gale, he had the pleasure of 

 discovering a rookery there. The following day, when he went ashore on the 

 northern side of the. bay, he observed some »kings» and further investigations proved 

 that they were members of a rookery occupied by about 25 pairs of breeding birds. 

 Some of these breeders had already youngs of a considerable size measuring more 

 than half a meter in height, while others had eggs. Captain Larsen took ten of 

 these eggs and when they should be cleaned it appeared that some were rather 

 strongly incubated, while others were freshly laid. And Captain Larsen even believed 

 that some of the penguins had not yet laid their egg. This is the more interesting 

 as the middle of March is about the end of the antarctic summer, but the way in 

 which the incubation takes place, and the woolly downy coat of the youngs explain 

 the possibility of such irregular habits, in spite of the severe climate. 



When the specimens which had eggs, were disturbed, Captain Larsen saw that 

 they carried away their eggs holding them beween their legs, and the loose skin of 

 the beiTy which forms a kind of a »pouch» in such a way as has first been described 

 by Weddell, and then confirmed by others. When the egg was taken away, Captain 

 Larsen saw the penguins take stones and carry with them as a substitute for the 

 löst eggs. 2 Each King Penguin had only one egg, and as the egg is carried hither 

 and thither, it is evident that no nest is needed. The egg lay therefore without 

 bedding on the bare stony ground when it was not held on top of the feet in 

 the »pouch». 



The 28th of June 1905 Sörling visited the same colony which was located 

 about 250 m. from the sea-shore. The number of penguins had then decreased very 

 much, and there were only four youngs. Most of the adults were females. Sörling 

 observed, namely, that the sexes could be easily distingnished on the colour of the 

 bill, which in the males was bright yellowish red, but in the females dull yellow. 

 The remaining youngs were still in down and had consequently not yet been in the 

 water, but were fed by the parental birds with fish. They had, however, attained 



1 The one recorded above as caught in Cumberland Bay was a straying individual. 



2 The »Emperor Penguin» is also told to have »an overpowering desire to sit on something» so 

 that a great nnmber of eg-gs, and even youngs are destroyed by the eagerness of the parents to nnrse 



E. A. Wilsoh (14)]. 



K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl. Band 40. N:o j. 12 



