THE "ROOKERY" DESCRIBED. 199 
they took their flight. They, as well as the penguins, were nesting, — 
their nests consisting of a cylindrical column of earth mixed with 
grass about a foot high, with a slight depression on top, in which was 
never more than one egg. It was a beautiful sight, as, bending down, 
we saw these lovely birds among the grass tunnels, which radiated in 
all directions, looking quietly dignified as they walked or sat on their 
high nests among the squatting, screaming penguins below and sur- 
rounding them. Just above us rose a rocky peak some five hundred 
feet in height, and up its very steep side we began to climb, — desperate 
hard work fighting our way through the grass, at every step having to 
clear away by main force the entangled stems above, below, all around. 
The rookery extended quite two hundred feet above the sea on this 
steep slope, and the muscular power in these penguins' legs must be 
quite enormous." 
Traces of pufiins, black petrels, and the fierce carrion-gull were 
numerous ; but the attention of the visitors was chiefly directed to the 
" rookery," which extended all along the hill-side, and down to the sea, 
with a broad main street, quite bare of grass, winding through the 
centre. Up and down this thoroughfare the penguins contentedly 
hopped their way, each keeping, as a rule, his own side of the road. 
It is wise not to interfere with them, for they have a habit of gather- 
ing round you, and pecking viciously at your legs ; and what with the 
odour that fills the air, and the infuriated clamour that rises on every 
side, and the fracture of countless eggs, there are pleasanter places in 
the world — dreary as ignorance and vanity picture it — than a penguin 
colony. Of course, you can knock down your assailants, and slide 
forward with relentless step; but the victory is one which brings 
neither honour nor profit. Leave them to their rocky isle, and the 
wild waters that heave and roll around ; and retire in prudent silence, 
convinced that even in a penguin rookery there is more than your 
philosophy can intelligibly explain ! 
At all events, the penguins have their troubles. They do not secure 
these isles and islets all to themselves ; and some of their neighbours 
show a shameful indifference to the rights of property. The sheath- 
bills, for instance, which prey upon the eggs of the colony, uncon- 
