MURPHY : PENGUINS OF SOUTH GEOKGIA. lOQ 
frcslih- laid eggs have been collected at South Georgia as late as March 
lo. It seems probable, as has been suggested h>- Lonnberg, that the 
breeding season extends through the major part of the southern sununer, 
with great individual variation in the time of Ia>-ing. I saw a few birds 
still engaged in pairing about the end of January-. Courting coujiles 
stroll apart from the main flocks, and seem fond of standing side by side 
on high places such as knolls overlooking the sea. Caresses are then 
exchanged, the tisual form being for the birds to cross their necks, 
swaying from side to side, and then for the cock to ])ress slo\vl\- down- 
ward on his mate's na]ie until her head is bent quite to the ground. 
For the reason given in the introduction I ha\-e no data regarding 
the appearance or life history of the king penguin during the natal down 
stage. Three chicks in juvenal down* several months of age, labelled 
"Bay of Isles, June 4, 1914", have been .sent me from South Georgia. 
The smallest of these is 50 cm. in length. Its bill, to which the egg- 
tooth still adheres, measures onl\- 49 nun. from the gape. The other two 
youngsters are each about 66 cm. long, with bills of 63 and 64 mm., well- 
developed rectrices, and much longer down (about 35 mm. max. ) than 
the smaller bird jio.sse.sses. The down in all three specimens is of a 
nearl>- uniform dusky or smok\- drah color all over the bodw In the case 
of the youngest bird it is ver\- thin and short over a masklike area on the 
face. Traces of light-colored natal down still cling to the tips of the dark 
feathers on the occiput. 
Yearling specimens of my own collecting show that the juvenal down 
grows to a length of 90 mm. or more, fading greatly and turning a 
streaky golden brown or yellowish with age.f It always remains short- 
est on the head, becoming hairlike and matted elsewhere on the i)od>' 
before the po.stjuvenaI molt. 
This yearling change of coat is well illustrated 1>\' five specimens 
which represent as many stages of the molt. The down on the fiij)pers 
is the first to go ; it is then lost from the belh', next from the back, and 
la.stly from the upper breast, throat, and head. Fragments of it cling 
longest on the nape of the neck. For the mo.st ]iart the whole coat 
comes off in the form of tangled mats which resemble wool or hair. The 
sprouting plumage fails for a few da\s thoroughh' to cover the skin of 
the head and gular region which is hidden onl\- graduall>' b\- a den.se 
