lippWS l<> p£l<il against Hie Quasi 

 ,nc<lium Of water. Their feet are 

 placed lar hack on the body. and 

 juis together with the tail, act as & 

 jjjficj when swimming. Tlic tail also 

 mm ,is .1 prop or support un land, 

 pus .met the fact that the hips call 

 muic on the backbone, gives 

 Ihc birds a waddling, pompous gait 

 DiIkt adaptations to marine life rue 

 nrsily, Hie ability to drink salt water, 

 Penguins have a liltcr-gland between 

 he nose and the skull, which takes 

 m sca-watet and discharges strong 

 hmie out through the nostrils and 

 K.visfers nearly pure water to the 

 ,ligrslive system. Secondly, they dp 

 ..i gel "the hends" on diving Before 

 .living they empty the lungs of air 

 ,nd shul Ihem olT from Ihe rest of 

 lu bfl<h I Ins means thai ihcre is 

 no problem with dissolved nitrogen 

 a r ii Itifj as hulihlcs when n. miii. il 

 pressure is regained on surfacing, hut 

 it also means that the birds must 

 uvim and create energy without usini! 

 a .mi To do this the niclaholism 

 E Slotted down and the he.ui onl> 

 heats about 4 or 5 times pet miiiule. 

 jhout one-twentieth of us nortna] 

 Kile On surfacing the bird must 

 ripidlv make £iiod the back-log ol 

 nvyyeii lack and get rid of accumu- 

 jied waste product*, which it does 

 titi eflieientls: birds swimming near 

 ific siirlace can be seen to "porpoise 

 jlwig, rising every few miuulcs m 

 hiv.iihe deeply and reactivate the 

 system. 



Keeping warm is the moM basic- 

 problem of all. lo begin with, there 

 9 ., special drrangement of ihe 

 lechers whivh arc small t .oe< ugiiiy 

 T 't m the so, in.), euivcd and oily 

 it the lips, u\et Lipping like tiles on 

 I mof fiom the shaft of the feathers 

 HUncious fibres grow down, forming 

 i kind of matted, fibrous timlershii t, 

 flleri there is the thick layer of blub- 

 her, which not only scivcs as an 



k.vembcr. I97J 



insulator, hut as a source of [ood 

 during Hie long fasts which all pen- 

 guins undergo. Keeping cool is also 

 a problem as the birds need lo cool 

 down rapidly when coming oui lo sit 

 on a sunny rock or sheet of ice afler 

 a sirenuous bout at sea. Because of 

 the feathers and the thick blanket of 

 hluhbcr. a special mechanism is 

 required. The bare patches, the feci 

 and Ihe inner surface of the Dippers 

 are very rich in blood vessels and 

 can be seen to glow pink like radiators 

 as Ihe hot blood comes to the surface 

 and the heat dissipates into the 

 atmosphere 



Most penguins are very gregarious 

 and very noisv ; sonic "arpp*\ some 

 shrill and some bray like donkews, 

 New /.ciilaiiders living in rvmoiv 

 coastal areas frequently complain of 

 |fcts noisy brnin^. under lhe;i houses 

 at night Penguins eat an cuotnious 

 HiUntHj of lish, ihe stomach takin.e 

 up almost ihe whole body area of 

 ihe bird. A large colony will eal as 

 many fish as 7U modern liawlers 

 could eaieh in a day. the etop is so 

 equipped ihat a penguin can suspend 

 digestion when carrying lish home lo 

 iis chick by secreting a thick wall of 

 mucous, penguins have been known 

 m siaive lo death with a full crop 

 it prevented from feeding this to the 

 chick. 



Most penguins have a very si rone 

 attachment lo their nesting sile and 

 will return to ihe same nest each 

 year, the tendency being most marked 

 in the male, who returns lirst each 

 season and starts scraping about <md 

 adding to the last season's nest. The 

 ii i' .li tetnms soo„ after an d joins 

 him I here is a great deal of recog- 

 mumi eereniony. posturing anil neck- 

 mg. scraping al and adding to the 

 nest. Occasionally Ihe- wrong female 

 arrives first and settles in, the malt 

 not obieel.ug. If Ihe proper male then 

 arrives the interloper is soon ejected. 



307 



