THE PENGUINS 269 



IMPENNES 

 THE PENGUINS 



From the preceding order we come, through the Skuas, the 

 Albatrosses, the Petrels, the Auks, the Divers, and the Grebes, to 

 the Penguins. These birds are so much alike that they are all 

 included in one family, which is made up of only some twenty 

 species. They have nevertheless a wide distribution, being found 

 among the Antarctic ice, and about the coasts of South America, 

 South Africa, and Australasia. They are limited to the southern 

 hemisphere. 



The Penguins are strange white -breasted birds, about three 

 feet high, and in their native haunts may be seen drawn up in 

 great multitudes on the beach, bearing a curious resemblance to 

 row upon row of well-drilled soldiers. There they stand side by 

 side, perfectly upright, and looking just as if they were listening 

 for the word of command. Some are swimming about close by; 

 others are just leaving the water, and waddling clumsily over the 

 rocks in order to join their companions; others, again, are making 

 their way down to the sea. 



The Penguin is a very interesting and curious bird. Its wings, 

 for instance, cannot be used for flight. They are very tiny and 

 peculiarly shaped, and, indeed, remind one of the flippers of a seal. 



Nevertheless these wings are not useless even upon land. If the 

 penguin is alarmed or pursued upon dry land, it will fall upon all- 

 fours, as it were, and scramble along upon its wings and feet after 

 the manner of a quadruped. But in the water they are the means 

 of rapid progression, so that it can dive and compete with the 

 swimming powers of fish, which it overtakes and captures for its 

 food. Indeed in activity and power of swimming the penguin is 

 said to equal the dolphin. These birds, indeed, have often been 

 mistaken for fish or small active cetaceans, that is, the family to 

 which porpoises and dolphins belong. 



Another peculiarity of these odd birds is that when they are on 

 shore they do not all stand together, but separate themselves into 



