122 nROOKI.YN INSTITUTE MUSEUM. SCIENCE BULLETIN 2. 5- 
to go is that cm the hind-head, neck, an .shoulders. When the changed 
has been completed the x'oungsters are distinguishable from th' -r elders 
only by their sleeker appearance, short tails, pale feet, small, light- 
colored bills, and voices which are unmistakably childish. At this age 
they still remain together in bands, and spend a good deal of the day 
in sleeping. They are, h(i\ve\-er, quite as inquisitive as the old birds. 
Until the end of Februar>" or later the\- are dei)endent for their food, and 
the\- are fed at least ])artiall>- 1)\' regurgitation up to the middle of 
March, 
On March I2, at the rooker\- on the west shore of Posse.ssion Bay, I 
saw man\- fully grown >-oung penguins following the old birds and 
demanding food. One youngster cha.sed a sorry looking adult to the 
water's edge where the latter turned and proceeded to pump up a meal. 
After a few moments. howe\-er, this per.secuted parent, or foster parent, 
tore away, plunged under a breaking wave and was lost to view. The 
in.satiable young penguin followed it into the surf but came out again 
discomfited within a few seconds. 
The ])ost Juvenal molt of the nestling johnn\' jienguins is succeeded 
closely b\- the annual jwstnuptial molt of the adults. Toward the end of 
Februar\- the feathers of the latter, already much faded and frayed, begin 
to droji out, further to litter up the ground of the rookeries, which have 
become evil-smelling and filthy from the surface mixture of mud, decaying 
tussock grass, excrement, down feathers, and dead nesthngs. The 
molting season of the adults seems to endure all through the summer, the 
plumage coming off in patches. A i)eriod of several days intervenes be- 
tween the lo.ss of the contour feathers and of the long, stiff rectrices.* 
On March 12 I ob.serv^ed that a few of the adults had not yet begun to 
doff their old coats, which were brown, rough, and threadbare. Many 
more, the majorit\- of the birds in fact, were in the throes of the proce.ss 
and were exceetlinglx ragged, the new plumage showing in spots. Others 
had conqileted the molt of the l)od\- feathers, but still retained their long 
tails, while the most advanced birds had dropped all their old feathers 
including the rectrices, a temporary lo.ss which gave them a more dum])y 
outline than ever : for a]>pearance sake a johnny can ill afford to be 
without its luxuriant tail. There is also a jiractical disadvantage, since 
these birds u.sc the stiff. bri.stl> tail feathers as a ]5roi). Certain changes 
* Seth-Smith / 
'. (-. 
record.-* 
thai 
I the r. 
sctri 
ce.-i of a captive ki 
,ng pengni 
n w 
the 
olted. This is 
als 
•0 in accord 
with 
the t 
estimony of other observer; 
iof 
pengni. 
many freshlv-r 
uolted exai! 
..pie 
s of R 
/•"/'' 
,,n with long tails. 
