Page:The birds of Tierra del Fuego - Richard Crawshay.djvu/292

158 rearing their young. They were very valiant in self-defence, and ran open-mouthed, by dozens, at any one who invaded their territory, little knowing how soon a stick could scatter them on the ground. The young were good eating, but the others proved to be black and tough, when cooked. The manner in which they feed their young is curious, and rather amusing. The old bird gets on a little eminence, and makes a great noise (between quacking and braying), holding its head up in the air, as if it were haranguing the penguinnery, while the young one stands close to it, but a little lower. The old bird having continued its clatter for about a minute, puts its head down, and opens its mouth widely, into which the young one thrusts its head, and then appears to such from the throat of its mother for a minute or two, after which the clatter is repeated, and the young one is again fed; this continues for about ten minutes. I observed some which were moulting make the same noise, and then apparently swallow what they thus furnished themselves with; so in this way I suppose they are furnished with subsistence during the time they cannot seek it in the water."

Of the Jackass in the Falkland Islands. Abbott says it is the first of its kind to arrive for breeding, and commences laying, almost to a day, on the 7th of October. Some few, however, are found on the shores of these islands the whole year, which is not the case with any other Penguin. "It has been asserted," he adds, "that these birds crawl on all fours to their breeding places. This is not the case; they walk upright, and it is only when they are frightened and hard~pressed, that they lose their balance, fall forward, and then make use of their fins and legs to get out of harm's way."