132 
BROOKLYN INSTITUTE MUSEUM. 
SCIENCE BULLETIN 2 . 5- 
cons]ncuous statements of doubtful worth in the uiuth volume of the 
Cambridge Natural History, lyoudoii, 1909. lu this general treatise on 
Birds,” ]iages 54 to 59 are devoted to the order Spheuisciformes. 
From this section I quote the following statements, with comments. 
The italics, wherever they appear, are mine. 
Penguins in general : 
Page 55. I.- 
■” the.se fliiipers or paddles have highly compre.s.sed bones 
ii'it/i no poioer of JlcxurcC Dis- 
regarding the absurdity of this 
clan.se, I have shown above that 
its meaning is not true. 
2. — “the tongue [i.s] often 
rndimentary. ” No reference is 
made to the well-developed 
tongue, highh" conspicuous and 
interesting because of its cover- 
ing of spines, which is found in 
many, probably most, species. 
Page 56. 3. — “the two coarse-jiavored eggs.” Penguin eggs number 
one, two, or three, according to the species. Tho.se of all the 
Antarctic penguins have been described as delicious eating, or if 
criticized, it has been upon the ground that they are .slightly 
■ ‘ insipid. ’ ’ The eggs of the king and johnny penguins have a less 
pronounced ta.ste than a fresh-laid hen’s egg, and consequently 
require more salt. The one objection to them lies in their a]i- 
])earance, for the albumen does not coagulate readily, and, as von 
Steinen remarks, a boiled ])enguin egg re.sembles a jelly-fish. 
4. — “incubation, which lasts about .six weeks.” For 
lienguins of the genus Pygoscelis this period has been determined as 
from thirty-one to thirt}"-.seven days. The emperor penguin i.s 
believed to incubate two months, or thereabouts. 
5. — “ the parents sit very clo.sely and feed the blind yoiDig for 
an exceptionalh’ long period, by inserting their bill in that of \X\^ 
nestling.” The young of Pygoscelis papua, and presumably of its 
near relations, hatch bright-eyed from the .shell. The young of 
onh^ the Aptenodytes ])enguins are fed as long as those of the 
wandering albatro.ss, for imstance ; and, as for in.serting the bill, it 
i.s done not by the ]iarent ])enguins but by the chicks, who.se heads 
disajipear within the gullets of the adults. 
