298 
POPULAU HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
landing on Louis Philippe Land/^ for specimens of the 
rocks, he found the stomachs of the penguins contribute 
much information; he speaks of the birds as being his 
^^best geological collectors/^ from their crops being fre- 
quently filled with pebbles. 
Sir James Ross refers to the great amusement afforded to 
the sailors by the capture of the great penguin; ^^for, when 
alarmed and endeavouring to escape, it makes its way over 
deep snow faster than they could follow it : by lying down 
on its belly and impelling itself by its powerful feet, it 
slides along upon the surface of the snow at a great pace, 
steadying itself by extending its fin -like wdngs, which alter- 
nately touch the ground on the side opposite to the pro- 
pelling leg.^^ 
Mr. Gould found the Little Penguin {JEudyptes minoT)^ 
abundant in Basses Straits and on the south coast of Aus- 
tralia, where the depth of the water was not too great to 
prevent its diving to the bottom. He remarks that, from 
the great weight of the body and the density of the plumage, 
this bird swims very deep in the water, — the head, neck, and 
upper part of the back only being above the water. In 
the sea its powers of progression struck Mr. Gould with 
astonishment, as it bounded through the deep like a por- 
