ADELIE PENGUINS 



covered eminences, but there was at that time 

 ample room for all, there being only about three 

 or four thousand arrived. Although there were 

 several open water holes against bergs frozen into 

 the sea-ice some half-mile or so away, not a single 

 bird attempted to get food. 



At 6 P.M. the whole rookery appeared to 

 sleep, and the ceaseless chattering of the past 

 hours gave place to a dead and impressive silence, 

 though here and there an industrious little bird 

 might be seen busily fetching stone after stone 

 to his nest. 



At that date it was deeply dusk at midnight, 

 though the sun was very quickly rising in altitude, 

 and continuous daylight would soon overtake us. 



By the morning of October 19 there had been 

 a good many more arrivals, but the rookery was 

 not yet more than one-twentieth part full. All 

 the birds were fasting absolutely. Nest building 

 was now in full swing, and the whole place waking 

 up to activity. Most of the pebbles for the new 

 nests were being taken from old nests, but a great 

 deal of robbery went on nevertheless. Depredators 

 when caught were driven furiously away, and 

 occasionally chased for some distance, and it was 

 curious to see the difference in the appearance 

 22 



