ADELIE PENGUINS 



By November 7, though many nests were still 

 without eggs, a large number now contained two 

 and their owners started, turn and turn about, to 

 go to the open water leads about; a third of a mile 

 distant to feed, and as a result of this a change 

 began gradually to come over the face of the 

 rookery. Hitherto the whole ground in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the nests had been stained a bright 

 green. This was due to the fasting birds continually 

 dropping their watery, bile-stained excreta upon it. 

 (The gall of penguins is bright green.) These 

 excreta practically contained no solid matter except- 

 ing epithelial cells and salts. 



The nests themselves are never fouled, the 

 excreta being squirted clear of them for a distance 

 of a foot or more, so that each nest has the appear- 

 ance of a flower with bright green petals radiating 

 from its centre. Some of the photographs show 

 this well, especially Fig. 30. Even when the 

 chicks have come and are being sat upon by the 

 parents, this still holds good, because they lie with 

 their heads under the old bird's belly and their 

 hindquarters just presenting themselves, so that 

 they may add their little decorative offerings, petal 

 by petal ! Now that the birds were going to feed, 

 the watery-green stains upon the ground gave 

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