228 Sydney Porter—Notes on New Zealand Birds


times they move along with a very dignified walk. Seeing Penguins

in their natural state one is surprised at their great beauty. One

gets no idea of what a Penguin is really like from the poor, dejected

specimens which are usually exhibited in zoological gardens and

menageries. Their feathers have the most wonderful silken sheen

which is lost in the captive bird. It simply makes my heart bleed

to see these wretched creatures confined in the miserable twopenny

or threepenny shows one sees at fairs and such-like places.


Awkward as a Penguin is on the land it is amazing to see the

lightning rapidity with which it can move when once in the w T ater.

A tired and exhausted bird will fight its way by inches to the water,

until it at last sinks down as it reaches the very water’s edge : as

soon as a wave comes and the bird is borne into its natural element

all is changed and no fish can equal it for grace and lightning

speed. The Cormorants are sluggards when compared to the

Penguins in the ease with which they move under water. The small

and isolated colony which we visited was composed of about twenty

or more birds, which according to Mrs. Black, w T ho had known them

for many years, never seemed to increase. Often these inoffensive

creatures provide targets for despicable wretches with guns as they

pass by the beach in launches, and fishermen will slaughter every

bird which they think takes a single fish out of the sea. Very

fortunately this small colony is in an isolated spot and far from

the beaten track, so there is a fair chance of their survival.


The Yellowy-crowned Penguin is a large bird almost equalling the

well-known King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica) in size, but is

thicker set and has a shorter beak. A striking feature is the very

thick-set legs and feet which are a bright rose pink and also the

bright yellow feathers of the head which are like spun glass. This

is one of the rarest of Penguins and is only found in a few spots in

the southernmost portion of the South Island and on a few of the off-

lying islands to the south, such as the Campbell and Auckland

Islands.


The South Island Weka (Galliralius australis)


It is a strange thing that while the Kiwi and Kakapo, those

strange representatives of New Zealand flightless avifauna, are



