DOMESTIC LIFE 



Jan. 1. 2 P.M. Hen on nest. Cock gone. 

 Jan. 2. 10 A.M. Hen on nest. 



12 noon. Chick disappeared. 



2 P.M. Nest deserted. 



4 P.M. Cock on nest. No chick. 



8 P.M. Cock on nest. No chick. 

 Jan. 3. Cock on the nest with the chick. 



From the above Table it will be seen that the 

 hen was not relieved by the cock until a fortnight 

 after she had laid her egg (in this case there was 

 only one) so that probably she had been without 

 food for a month. Then she left, and only returned 

 to relieve the cock after the lapse of another fort- 

 night, it being worth remarking that each was 

 absent for the same length of time. When the 

 chick was hatched, a different regime began, as of 

 course the chick had to be fed and journeys to the 

 sea made at regular intervals for the purpose of 

 getting food. 



When the chicks began to appear aU over the 

 rookery (Fig. 56), a marked change was noticed in 

 the appearance of the parents as they made their 

 way on foot from the water's edge to the nests. 

 Hitherto they had been merely remarkable for 

 their spotless and glistening plumage, but now they 



93 



