Io8 BROOKLYN INvSTlTUTE MILSEUM. vSClENCE BULLETIN 2 . 5 - 
Incubating king penguins can shift about slowly, in spite of the eggs 
on their inste])s. The}" drag themselves along rather painfully, maintain- 
ing their hunched positions, and hitching their feet with short steps so 
that the egg may not roll out. The}' are fond of crowding together 
closely, yet seemingly for no better purpo.se than to facilitate quarreling ! 
Day after da}^ at the Lucas Glacier colony I was a neutral witness to 
their noisy squabbles. The sitters glare at each other, with sinuous 
necks twisted and heads cocked .sidewi.se, and deal resounding whacks 
with their flippers, or lunges with their sharp bills, to all their neighbors. 
Often whole groups will be engaged in an indiscriminate .skirmish with 
the.se rapiers and broadswords. The birds are careful to maintain their 
equilibrium while banging each other, but it is a wonder, neverthele.ss, 
that no harm comes to the eggs. On Februar}' 5 I photograjihed a 
typical battle. One sitter was eni])loying its bill to mutilate the 
back of another’s neck. The latter bird, grunting vehement!}', was 
delivering backhand blows with one wing but without turning to face its 
opponent. Only the intru.sion of weajions of other pugnacious penguins 
succeeded in diverting the attentions of the.se two from one another. 
The affair ended in a general melee in which nine birds took part, each 
for itself and against every other. Such is the reach and flexibilit}' of the 
king’s extensible neck that each sitter can very easil}^ become the center 
of a large circle of trouble. And yet the}' like to .sit as near together as 
possible, and if they move, it is only to draw to still clo.ser quarters ! 
According to an officer of a .sealing vessel at .South Georgia, the 
mated king penguins relieve each other in the duties of incubation with 
more frequency than the nesting Pygoscelis ])enguins. I was informed 
that a bird which has been marked with a cord round the leg was ob- 
.served to alternate with its mate during the forenoon of each day. The 
])eriod of incubation is said to be .seven weeks.* 
King penguins of the Lucas Glacier colon}' which had been robbed 
of their eggs not later than December 22, had begun to la}' a second 
time by Januar}' 8. On January 16 three females brought to the .ship b}' 
sailors had within their oviducts eggs almo.st ready for la}'ing, while a 
fourth bird had been killed in the very act of de])o.siting its egg. On 
January 27 I skinned several which contained well-formed yolks not }'et 
detatched from the ovaries. Weddell names the beginning of January 
as the time of mating and la}dng. We, however, found eggs in an ad- 
vanced state of incubation in mid-December, while, on the other hand. 
* Cf. Moseley, I. c., p. 154. 
