PENGUIN. 
569 
at a distance for young children with white bibs. 
The usual height of this species is about three 
feet. They are completely deprived of the power 
of flying ; and as their legs are placed very far back, 
they can only take short steps, and those with 
difficulty. Their wings are only appendices in the 
place where the true wings should be attached, and 
their only use is to balance the bird in its tottering 
pace. They come on shore to pass the night and 
to breed. As they run with great difficulty, and 
are denied the power of flight, they are constantly 
exposed to the mercy of those who may chance to 
land on their retreats ; and this defect in their struc- 
ture, which incapacitates them from avoiding their 
enemies, has made voyagers regard them as stupid 
creatures, inattentive even to self-preservation. 
Incapable either of resistance or defence, these 
birds could never exist in inhabited places, as 
their destruction would be unavoidable : therefore 
the Author of Nature has wisely placed them in 
islands far remote from man, and which do not 
hold out one single temptation to induce him to 
settle among them. The description Mr. Penrose 
gives of a species of penguin, that lays its eggs in 
incredible numbers in the Falkland islands, will af- 
ford us some idea of their dreary abodes. He has 
given the name of towns to the places where these 
birds reside, and tells us the nests were composed 
of mud, raised into hillocks about a foot high, and 
placed close to each other. 
“ Here,” says this gentleman, “ during the breed- 
