BIOLOGY 



Adelies, looked somewhat like a young Adelie with the 

 white throat. I picked him up by the legs to investigate. 

 To my surprise he curled round and bit me on the hand. 

 An Adehe could not do so. A closer examination showed 

 what he was. 



The Skua Gull 



Some hundreds of skuas nested in the neighbourhood 

 of Cape Royds. At Green Lake and Coast Lake they 

 were aggregated in what were known as skuaries. Coast 

 Lake was the most populous skuary. Elsewhere they 

 were widely scattered over the lower hills. There is no 

 doubt that they are not social or even gregarious birds, 

 and that they congregate at such places as Coast Lake 

 out of their fondness for fresh-water bathing. They do 

 not love their kind, nor have they any inducement to. 

 Skua will prey on skua. 



They are callous, greedy, vulturous and disgusting. 

 They may be seen sitting in a circle round a sick or 

 wounded penguin, and they have been suspected of medi- 

 tating an attack on the eyes of a sleeping man. When 

 the young penguins are hatching they squat down right 

 among the nests waiting for a chance to snatch one. 



When they have eggs or young they swoop down on 

 an intruder in a menacing manner, which is rather alarm- 

 ing when one knows how sharp and strong are their bills 

 and claws. They rarely strike, however, thinking better 

 of it at the last moment, and swerving suddenly upwards. 

 When they do strike it is probably through miscalculation. 

 Some birds were known which did habitually strike at 

 every swoop. These blows did no damage, as if they 

 come in front one involuntarily ducks, and from any 

 other direction they strike the cap only. 



They were very bitter against dogs, and gave no atten- 



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