PENGUINS. 
545 
conspicuous in the recesses of a dense mass of reeds. The larger grebes are much 
hunted for the sake of the beautiful silky plumage of the breast; and on the Lake 
of Geneva it is customary in autumn to make up boating-parties, for the purpose 
of shooting the great crested species. 
The Thick-Billed The thick-billed, pied-billed, or Carolina grebe (Podilymbus 
podiceps ), which is an exclusively American form, clearly represents 
a distinct genus, characterised by the shortness and stoutness of the beak, in 
which the length is less than twice the basal depth. The much arched beak is 
parti-coloured; the length of the metatarsus is less than that of the third toe 
without the claw; and the head is not tufted, although the throat is ornamented 
with a black patch. This grebe inhabits temperate North America and the West 
Indies, as well as the whole of Central and the greater part of South America. 
The Penguins. 
Order Impennes. 
Approximating to the diving - birds (to which they also present certain 
resemblances in the structure of their soft internal parts) in the backward position 
of their short legs and their upright posture when on land, the penguins of the 
Southern Hemisphere differ from all other members of the class in two important 
structural features. In the first place, the wings, in which 
the quills are rudimentary, are transformed into paddles; and, 
in the second, the short metatarsus is of great width, with 
its three longitudinal elements incompletely fused together, 
and separated from one another by small foramina. Conse¬ 
quently, these birds can scarcely be said to have a true cannon- 
bone. As regards their skulls, the penguins agree with the 
other birds treated in this chapter in having the palate of the 
cleft (schizognathous) type ; and there are also hollows on the 
forehead for the reception of glands. The feathers are pro¬ 
vided with after-shafts, and the spinal feather-tract is not 
defined on the neck, while the oil-gland is tufted. The young, 
although born covered with down, are at first helpless, and 
require to be tended for a long period in the nest. In addition to the rudimentary 
condition of the wing-quills, there are also no functional tail-feathers; and it is 
very noteworthy that the rudimental scale-like feathers with which the wings are 
covered are more numerous than the quills and wing-coverts of any other birds. 
As additional characters of the skeleton, it may be mentioned that the blade-bone 
or scapula is remarkable for its great breadth, while the bones of the wings 
are flattened; the humerus, which has no process on the outer side of its lower 
extremity, being very short. In habits the penguins are marine and carnivorous. 
The general appearance of these birds is so well-known that it will be 
unnecessary to say much on this point. We may mention, however, that the beak 
is more or less elongated and straight, with its sides compressed and grooved, and 
its tip sharply pointed; the slit-like nostrils being situated within the lateral 
vol. iv .—35 
RIGHT METATARSAL BONE 
OP THE YELLOW- 
CROWNED PENGUIN. 
