BIOLOGY 



We supposed this to be a part of his courtship, or as some 

 phrased it " advertising for a wife," but there is good 

 reason to suppose that the pairing is done before the birds 

 leave the sea. Generally the male's displaying passes 

 entirely disregarded. He continues it all through the 

 nesting-season, till the chicks are nearly fledged and the 

 moulting-time is near. An epidemic of displaying often 

 took the whole rookery at once, when the hens were mostly 

 away disporting themselves in the sea. 



When the rookery is pretty well filled, and the nest- 

 building is in full swing, the birds have a busy and anxious 

 time. To get enough of suitable small stones is a matter 

 of difficulty, and may involve long journeys for each 

 single stone. The temptation is too strong for some of 

 them, and they become habitual thieves. The majority 

 remain stupidly honest. Amusing complications result. 

 The bearing of the thief clearly shows that he knows he 

 is dong wrong. He has a conscience, at least a human 

 conscience, i.e., the fear of being found out. Very differ- 

 ent is the furtive look of the thief, long after he is out 

 of danger of pursuit, from the expression of the honest 

 penguin coming home with a hard-earned stone. 



An honest one was bringing stones from a long dis- 

 tance. Each stone was removed by a thief as soon as the 

 owner's back was turned. The honest one looked greatly 

 troubled as he found that his heap didn't grow, but he 

 seemed incapable of suspecting the cause. 



A thief, sitting on its own nest, was stealing from an 

 adjacent nest, whose honest owner was also at home, but 

 looking unsuspectingly in another direction. Casually he 

 turned his head and caught the thief in the act. The thief 

 dropped the stone and pretended to be busy picking up 

 an infinitesimal crumb from the neutral ground. 



The stone gathering is a very strong part of the nest- 



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