THE GEEBES. 221 



action of the bird. It was a brave bird, and, till reaching the 

 sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards. Nothing less 

 than heavy blows would have stopped him. Every inch gained 

 he kept firmly, standing close before me firm, erect, and deter- 

 mined, all the time rolling his head from side to side in a very 

 odd manner, as if the powers of vision only lay in the anterior and 

 basal part of each eye." This bird, Mr. Darwin states, is called 

 the Jackass Penguin, from this habit, when on shore, of throwing 

 its head backwards, and of making a loud strange noise very like 

 the braying of an ass. 



They defend themselves vigorously with their beaks when an 

 attempt is made to lay hands upon them ; and when pursued, 

 they will pretend to retreat, and return immediately, throwing 

 themselves upon their assailant. " At other times they will look 

 at you askance," says Pernetty, " the head inclined first on one 

 side, then on the other, as if they were mocking you." They hold 

 themselves upright on their feet, the body erect, in a perpendicular 

 line with the head. In this attitude they might be taken for a 

 party of choristers with white surplices and black gowns. Their 

 cry strikingly resembles the braying of an ass. Navigators passing 

 these islands of the southern seas might suppose that they were 

 densely inhabited, for the loud roaring voices of these birds produce 

 a noise equal to that of a crowd on a f^te day. The flesh is most 

 unpalatable, but it is frequently the only resource of ships' crews 

 who find themselves short of provisions in these inhospitable 

 regions. As to the eggs of most of the Palmipedes, they are said 

 to be excellent. 



The Geebes. 



The Grebes (Podiceps) have the head small, the neck somewhat 

 elongated, the legs attached to the abdomen, the tail rudimentary, 

 the tarsi compressed, the anterior toes united at their base by a 

 membrane slightly lobed in its contracted extent. These birds 

 live principally on the sea, but they inhabit fresh water by pre- 

 ference, feeding on small fishes, worms, moUusks, insects, and 

 the products of aquatic vegetation. "While they dive and swim 

 admirably, they also fly with vigorous wing when pursued ; but 



