ORNITHOLOGY. 



Palrai- nute scale-like feathers. Their body is elliptical and de- 

 pedes. pressed, their neck of moderate length, their head oblong, 

 — -v— — ' their bill of moderate length, generally slender and point- 

 ed, the upper mandible covered with feathers for a third 

 of its length, or as far as the nostrils, whence a groove ex- 

 tends to the tip. Their legs are very short, and placed so 

 far behind that they cannot support themselves on land, 

 even in a vertical position, without resting on their tarsi, 

 which are flattened behind, somewhat like the foot of a 

 quadruped. Their life is chiefly spent on the ocean, and 

 as they possess the faculties of swimming and diving in 

 the highest degree of perfection, they are the most truly 

 aquatic of all birds, and the analogues of the swallows, 

 which are the most aerial. If any bird approaches nearly 

 in structure and habits to a quadruped, the penguins 

 may claim kindred with the seals, which they greatly re- 

 semble in their mode of life, going on shore merely to 

 breed, and dragging themselves over the rocks in a similar 

 manner. 



The penguins peculiarly so named, genus Aptenodytes, 

 as restricted, have the bill rather long, slender, and point- 

 ed, the upper mandible slightly arched towards the end, 

 and covered with feathers at the base ; the nostrils linear, 

 with the nasal groove extending to the tip. 



The Patagonian or great penguin, Aptenodytes Pata- 

 gonica (Plate CCCCI. fig. 4), is nearly of the size of the 

 great auk, of a dark-grayish blue above, white beneath, 

 the head black, and a yellow curved band on the fore 

 neck. It occurs in great flocks on the coasts of the Falk- 

 land Isles, New Guinea, New George, the Straits of Ma- 

 gellan, and other antarctic lands ; feeds on fish, Crusta- 

 cea, and mollusca ; and is employed by the natives as an 

 article of food, although its flesh is dark-coloured and rank. 



The gorfous, genus Chrysocoma, have the bill short, 

 strong, and somewhat conical, with the point a little arch- 

 ed. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 3 b.) The groove from the nostril 

 ends about a third from the tip. In other respects they 

 do not differ materially from the penguins. 



The leaping gorfou, Chrysocoma saltator, is a handsome 

 bird, of the size of a domestic duck, with the head and 

 upper parts grayish black, the lower white, and the head 

 ornamented with a large crest, of which the central part 

 is erect and dusky, the lateral portions deflected, and of 

 a yellow colour. It is common in the Falkland Islands 

 and other parts of the southern seas ; and, like the Pata- 

 gonian penguin and other birds of this group, is said to be 

 so stupid as to allow itself to be assailed without attempt- 

 ing to escape. It is extremely expert at diving ; and like se- 

 veral birds of different families, such as the cormorants and 

 darters, is often observed, while about to plunge beneath 

 the surface, to leap several feet out of the water, — whence 

 our sailors have named it the hopping penguin, or jump- 

 ing Jack. The word gorfou is a corruption of goir-fugel, 

 or gare-fowl, applied in Ferroe and the north of Scotland 

 to the great auk, Alca impennis. 



Several other species of this genus are known, and in- 

 habit the same seas, such as the Papuan gorfou, Chr. Pa- 

 pua ; the collared, Chr. torquata ; the red-footed, Chr. 

 catarrucles; and the little gorfou, Chr. minor. 



The sphenisques, genus Spheniscus, form a group cha- 

 racterized by their straight, compressed bill, which is irre- 

 gularly grooved at the base, and has the tip of the upper 

 mandible curved, while that of the lower is. obliquely trun- 

 cate, as in the cormorant. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 3 a.) 



The Cape sphenisque, Spheniscus demersus, is about 

 twenty inches long, black above, white beneath, with the 

 throat and cheeks black, a white line over each eye, and 

 a black band across the fore part of the neck, and extend- 

 ing along each side of the body. It occurs in the vicinity 

 of the Cape of Good Hope, where it nestles in the rocks. 



Another species, Spheniscus Magellanicus, upwards of 



two feet long, with the upper parts, a band on the breast, 

 and a collar on the middle of the neck, black, inhabits 

 Terra del Fuego, the Straits of Magellan, and other parts 

 of the antarctic regions, where they are very numerous. 

 This species, like the gorfou, and probably all the birds of 

 this tribe, has a habit of leaping several feet out of the 

 water, either when about to dive, or when it meets with 

 any obstacle on the surface. 



FAMILY II.— LONGIPENNjE. 



To this family belong those wandering sea-birds which, 

 having a flight characterized by extreme buoyancy and 

 rapidity combined, are met with on all parts of the ocean, 

 frequently at the greatest distance from land. Their wings 

 are always very long, although often extremely narrow ; 

 and their tail is proportionally developed. Their hind toe 

 is small and free, or wanting ; their bill pointed or hooked 

 at the tip, but without lamellae ; their inferior larynx has 

 only one muscle on each side ; their oesophagus is wide, 

 their stomach muscular, their caeca short. They are inca- 

 pable of diving and pursuing their prey under the surface, 

 but they swim with ease, and sit lightly and gracefully on 

 the water. Some of them obtain their food by dipping or 

 plunging from on wing, others by picking it up as they 

 swim, while several wander to great distances in quest of 

 dead animals of all kinds, and are in fact the vultures of 

 the sea. 



The petrels, Procellaria, have their bill hooked at the 

 tip, which seems as if formed of a separate piece articu- 

 lated to the rest (Plate CCCCI. figs. 5, 6, and 9) ; their 

 nostrils placed close together, and enclosed by a tube which 

 lies on the back of the upper mandible ; and their hind 

 toe reduced to a knob with a claw upon it. These birds, 

 although many of them are very small, reside on the open 

 ocean, where they are met with by voyagers in the most 

 tempestuous as in the calmest weather. Their food con- 

 sists of small fishes, Crustacea, and especially oily sub- 

 stances of all kinds ; and most of them when seized, whe- 

 ther on being wounded or on being dragged from their 

 holes, disgorge an oleaginous matter, or squirt it through 

 their nostrils. They are incapable of diving, and seldom 

 swim, but are generally seen flying or gliding over the sur- 

 face of the waves, mounting upon their ridges and descend- 

 ing into the hollows, often so close as to seem walking on 

 the water. Hence the name Petrel, or Little Peter, be- 

 stowed upon them, in allusion to St Peter's progress on the 

 waves. In stormy weather they frequently fly in the wake 

 of a ship, to shelter themselves from the wind. On account 

 of this habit they are held in aversion by sailors, who, ima- 

 gining them to be predictive of tempests, and in league 

 with the mysterious source of evil, bestow on them the 

 opprobrious appellation of Mother Carey's chickens. Their 

 flight is rapid and buoyant ; they breed in holes and cre- 

 vices of the rocky coasts ; and are more numerous in the 

 antarctic than in the northern seas. 



Those which have the lower mandible truncate are more 

 peculiarly named petrels, genus Procellaria. 



Of these the largest is the giant petrel, Procellaria gi- 

 gantea, which has a length of about three feet and a half, 

 and is of a dusky colour above, whitish beneath, with the 

 bill and legs yellow. It is of frequent occurrence in the 

 southern seas, is observed to be most lively in stormy 

 weather, and feeds on fishes, and the carcasses of seals, 

 birds, and other animals. 



The pintado, or Cape petrel, Procellaria Capensis, is 

 about fourteen inches long, variegated with brown and 

 white, and occurs in large flocks in the antarctic seas, par- 

 ticularly in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. Like 

 most of the other species, it flies very low. feeds on fish 



631 



Palmi- 

 pedes. 



