Natatores.- 
426 
BIRDS. Proceli.arii).®. 
upon the nortliern sliores of Britain. It is a large 
bird, measuring about thirty-two inches in length ; the 
wings, although furnished with ordinary feathers, are 
far too small to support its bulky body in the air ; and 
its bill is large, strong, much compressed, and marked 
with several furrows on each side. In its habits the 
Great Auk closely resembles the Guillemots. For- 
merh' it occurred not uncommonly about the shores of 
Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, and the 
eastern coast of North America, as far down as La- 
brador and Newfoundland, but for many years it has 
scarcely ever been seen in any of these localities, and 
in some of them it is certainly extinct. Examples of 
it are so rare in collections, that a good specimen is 
now worth fifty guineas, and even the egg will fetch 
from twenty to thirty pounds 
THE PATAGONIAN PENGUIN {Aptenodytes pata- 
gonica). — The birds which we -have just been describ- 
ing are found with some allied forms in the extreme 
northern seas, the Penguins, which constitute the 
remainder of this family, are equally peculiar to 
those approaching the antarctic circle. They are 
distinguished by the rudimentary state of the wings, 
wliich are not only fiir too small to support the birds 
in the air, but are even destitute of the ordinary quills, 
the skin of these parts being covered only with scales, 
which represent rudimentary feathers. These curious 
organs serve as paddles to assist the birds in swimming 
beneath the surface of the water ; they arc also some- 
times used as a second pair of feet to aid them in their 
movements on shore. 
The Patagonian Penguin is a large species, standing 
nearly three feet in height when in an erect position ; 
its colouring is shown by our figure. It is found in 
large flocks about the coasts of Patagonia and the 
islands scattered over the antarctic ocean. On shore it 
is seen in compact bodies, the young birds, moulting 
birds, and sitting females keeping in distinct parties ; 
each female lays only a single egg, which she hatches 
by holding it between her legs, and when disturbed, 
waddles away with her treasure secured in ihe same 
manner. At this period the male goes to sea to fish, 
And brings a supply of food to the female, and the 
latter, from her sedentary life becomes very fat. The 
young birds are also fed on shore for some time. 
THE CAPE PENGUIN [Spheniscus demersus), which 
is found about the Cape of Good Hope, and also on 
the shores of the Falkland islands, is nearly the size 
of a goose, and is black above and white beneath, 
with a black line on the breast. It occurs in immense 
numbers, and breeds among the rocks. 
THE JACKASS PENGUIN {Eudyptes demersa) is 
very generally distributed in the antarctic seas, and 
occurs in man^' {)laces in vast quantities. It is about 
the size of a large duck, black above and white be- 
neath, with the back of the head adorned with a pair 
of tufts of a white or yellow colour. The name of 
Jackass Penguin given to this bird is an allusion to 
the peculiar braying sound which it emits when on 
shore ; its note when at sea is deep and solemn. 
This bird makes use of its little wings as fore-legs 
when moving on the land, and is described by Mr. 
Darwin as advancing so rapidly in this way among 
the tussocks of grass, that it might easily be mistaken 
for a quadruped. 
Family IV.— PROCELL AEIDZE. 
Whilst the birds of the preceding family are very 
scantily furnished with wings, and some of them 
totally incapable of flight, those to which we have 
now to advert possess large wings, and fly with great 
ease and rapidity. They have a tolerably stout bod^q 
supported upon moderately long legs, which are placed 
less backward than in any of the preceding groups, so 
that these birds walk with more grace than most of 
their allies. The anterior toes are well developed 
and united by large webs, but the posterior toe is 
rudimentary or entirely wanting. The structure of 
the bill serves to distinguish these birds from those 
of the following family, which they resemble in general 
form. The apical portion of both mandibles is dis- 
tinctly separated Irom the basal part, and the upper 
surface of the base of the upper mandible is usually 
occupied by a pair of tubes, generally united together, 
at the extremity of which are the openings of the 
nostrils. The nostrils are always of a tubular form. 
These birds are strictly oceanic in their habits, pass- 
ing nearly their whole time upon the surface of the 
sea, and even apparently delighting in rough weather. 
Few of them ever visit the shore except for the pur- 
pose of breeding, when they deposit their eggs, and 
hatch and bring up their young upon the ledges of the 
rocks. Their food consists of fishes and. other marine 
animals, together with fragments of animal matter 
which they find floating on the waves. 
THE GREAT SHEARWATER [Puffinus major), a very 
abundant species in the North American seas, is also 
seen upon the British coasts, especially on the Atlantic 
side. It has a long and rather slender, dark-brown 
bill, and the upper surface ashy-gray, with the back of 
the neck nearly white, and the primaries and tail- 
feathers blackish ; the whole lower surface is white, 
variegated with brown about the vent, and the feet 
are brownish-yellow. The length of this bird is 
eighteen inches. 
THE HANKS SHEARWATER (Puffinus Avglorum) is 
a smaller species, only fourteen inches in length, and 
of a brownish-black colour above. It resides all the 
3'ear in the Bi itish seas, especially along our western 
coasts, and occurs on most of the shores of Europe and 
on those of North America. This bird breeds in cre- 
vices amongst the rocks and in rabbit burrows, lajdng 
a single egg. It goes out to sea in the evening during 
the breeding season, both sexes passing the day in their 
burrow, where they are heard crooning over a sort of 
guttural song. Like many other species of this family, 
this bird when caught in the hand emits a large quan- 
tity of a green oily matter of a most abominable odour. 
THE GREAT BLACK V'EA'KEL (Puffinus (eqzdnoctialis) . 
— A considerable number of'birds nearly allied to the 
preceding are met with in the Southern seas, extending 
even to the Antarctic ocean. One of these is the Great 
Black Petrel, which inhabits various parts of the Pacific 
ocean, and is found on the shores of New Zealand and 
