:\iURPiiY : 
PICXCUIIXS OF SOUTH CHvORC I A . 
1 2 I 
])itched voices. After a few moments, howe\’er, tlie>’ Ijeccjme absurdl)' 
tame and confident, and enjoy liax'in^- their ])Inslilike liacks stroked. 
B_\' the end of Januar\' all but a ver>’ few of the _\'oiinj;' iien^nins, 
still clad in the softest of ^Ta\’ and white " fur,” had ])ermanentl>’ 
de.serted the ne.sts and had congregated by them.selves, but alwaws under 
the guard of adult nurses. In fine weather they might be .seen sunning 
theiiLselves on the snowl)anks, and at other times crouching from the 
wind in sheltered hollows. vSome of them were as large as the adults, 
but they w’ere .still de])endent for their food, and they had not yet been 
to the seashore. I often .saw them pleading to be fed when the old birds 
evidently did not wash to gratif_\' them. Such begging \'oung.sters ran 
about after the adults, following every dodge and turn, continually 
bumping into them and stepping on their tails until the hara.s.sed adults 
gave up in despair. The yonng ones \vonld then pre.ss clo.sel\' again.st the 
provider, open their little bills expectantly, and lo.se nothing of the 
regurgitated meal. 
Yonng penguins do not go into the sea until they have lo.st com- 
])letely their coat of down. In this respect the}' differ from all other 
aquatic birds, and since the molt of the dowai is so important an event in 
the johnny penguin’s econoni}', the plumage seqnence should be treated of 
in connection with growth. On emerging from the shell the yonng 
johnnies are clad in a nearl}' nniform covering of straight filaments, 
whitish or light gra}' except on the top of the head, wdiere the}' are of 
a dark slate color. The.se natal filaments are attached to the ti]xs of the 
juvenal down feathers, which are highly complex and den.se, and w'hich 
.s])ront within a few days after hatching, clothing the ne.stling in dark 
grav and white, on the dorsal and c'entral surfaces resj^ectiveh'. The 
wings are included in this ve.stment of woollv down. Traces of the 
frail natal down cling to the new coat for .some time, Imt eventnall}' dis- 
a])pear through wear. The egg tooth adheres to the yonng penguin’s 
l)ill until the bird is near!}- fnllv grown. 
Al)ont the fir.st of h'eln'narv most of the yonng l)egin molting the 
juvenal down, thus ex])osing the adult plumage feathers which have 
grown out beneath. 'I'he a])pearance of the white liead-s]M)ts is the 
signal of the coming change. The down is shed in sheets and ])atches ; 
the ])i'oce.ss re.seml)les the ])eeling of the veh'et from a deer's horn. b\' 
the middle of h'ebrnary, or toward the clo.se of the molting ])criod, cling- 
ing tnfts, collars, or top-nots of down give the otherwise smooth } (’)nng 
]iengnins the a])])earance of clowns and ])ierrots. 'I'he last of the down 
