128 BROOKLYN IXSTITrTK Ml'SKUM. SCIENCE Bl'LLETIN 2. 5- 
emerge from the sliell, tlie tardiness of \ouiii; jieiiguins in taking t<i tlae 
water has been ])ointe(l ont as a remarkaljle iihenonienon. The ex- 
planation of this, however, is doubtless that the sjieed and stamina re- 
quired in capturing living pelagic food, in escaping from the dreaded sea 
leopard, and in swimming through breaking surf, can not be developed 
early in life 1)>- Itirds which use the :,7'/ii;s instead of the feet as propelling 
organs. Certainly the jnnions of nestling penguins seem extraordinarily 
under-de\elo])ed. The little birds begin to exercise them soon after 
birth by flajijiing them, weakly at first but vigorously later on, a trait 
that suggests ancestral aspirations for flight. The young johnnies never 
enter the water of their own accord until the>' ha\e completed the jitist- 
juvenal molt. I was informed b\- sealers at Smith Ceorgia that the 
\oung,sters then receive from the adults a sort of disci]>line strongly re- 
re.sembling " swimming lessons," * but it was ne\-er m\- pri\-ilege to 
witness this interesting performance. t On man\- occasions I jnit nest- 
lings of various ages, as well as fulh- grown, molting young, into the 
freshwater jionds where the\ iirii\-ed themsehes almo.st as helple.ss as 
human beings luifamiliar with --winnning. The\- instinctively put their 
heads under water and tried to swim below the surface in the apjiroved 
fashion, but it was a feat quite imjiossilile for them. The\- beat the 
wings simultaneouslx", and bobbed up and down without making much 
progress. Such a .scene always attracts a band of .skuas to the spot, as if 
these ogres realized the helple.ss miser>- of a >oinig penguin in the water. 
The .skuas do not strike while their prospective victim is swimming, but 
pace along the shore waiting to intercept its landing. Once a half- 
grown youngster, with which I had been experimenting, crawled out of 
the grave-yard \Kn>\ into the ^■cr\ jaws of .seven .skuas which attacked it 
I'/i ?>iass<\ The little i)enguin struck with its feeble wings and cried out 
piteously. Insignificant as it was, not one nf the skuas dared seize it 
outright, but they made quick rushes from all sides, striking the i)en- 
guin on the head with closed bilK. and then retreating. 1 hurried to the 
rescue and re.stored the little bird to its nest where 1 afterwards saw it 
resting characteristicall> with its head hidden between its mother's 
warm, feathered thighs. 
It .seems to the writer that the name johnn\- penguin might well be 
* Levick confirms tlit; triitli cf this by his observations uu the .\delie penguins. 
t Mo.st of the johnny penguins are .said to migrate to sea during .\pril. although a few linger 
about the shores of South Cieorgia into the winter. Dr. Gain of the Pourquoi Pai. ascertained, by 
banding examples of F. papna at I'etermaun's Island, that the same birds come back to the same 
rookery year after year. It seems probable that the young spend nearly two years at sea before 
