MURPHY : 
PEXCH’IN.S Ol' SOUTH GPRjROIA. 
I 1 I 
ignominious flight. Sitting birds alone are stolid and fearless, refusing 
to be stani|)eded even after their eggs have been taken. 
Between the Cfrace Cflacier colony and the .sea there was a snowbank 
about twenty meters broad, down which I .saw king ])engiiins coa.sting, 
otterlike, during Decemljer and January. 
The voice of an adult king ])enguin is a martial .sound, a long-drawn 
bugle call, highly musical and ahno.st worth)' 
The actions of “ bachelor troops,” i. e. birds of both sexes which 
are neither molting nor incubating, alwax's furnish entertainment to an 
observer. .Such bands frequently come out of the sea during the warmer 
parts of the day to sun thenrselves on the beaches. The birds .sleep 
either |)rone or upright ; if in the latter ]:>osition, often with the bill 
turned behind the wing, where ages ago the ancestors of penguins ma}' 
have had warm coverts. They ])reen themselves .scru]')ulon.sly and even 
])erform the difficult .stunt of balancing on one foot while they .scratch 
their heads with the other. Their “regimental” characteri.stics, such 
as .standing at attention, marking time, and marching in .single file or 
in doubles, are ver_\' .striking. They frequentl}' .shake their wings ra]hdly 
while they walk or .stand. Contrary to a .statement re]')eatedly affirmed 
of ])enguins in general, the king penguin's wing is not a mere lfi]q)er, 
immobile exce])t from the shoulder ; on the other hand, it is ca])able of 
con.siderable flexure at both joints, and can readil)- be doubled into a 
z-sha])e, a fact which .several of my ])hotogra])hs demon.strate. 
Cuttlefish beaks were the onl\- edible sub.stances found within the 
king penguins’ .stomachs. All of the birds collected were ver)- fat, the 
laver under the skin .sometimes being two centimeters thick. 
of being known as a tune. When deliver- 
ing the call, the bird .stretches grandly to 
its full height, points its bill .skyward, 
and the long volley rings forth from an 
expanded che.st. At the close of the effort 
the head is tilted forward with a jerk and 
the bugler .stands at attention — a rigid, 
constrained ])o.se always held for several 
moments. The yearling penguin’s call is 
a clear whistle of three notes, as soft and 
sweet as the whi.stle of an o.scine bird. 
Fig. 2 . a. King penguin 
trumpeting. b. Posing after 
trumpeting. 
