This bird, also known as the Cape or Jackass-penguin, breeds in burrows or under ledges of rock.
The Penguins may justly be called wonderful birds, and they are undoubtedly of very ancient descent. For countless generations the sea has been their home and refuge, and, in consequence, flight has been abandoned in exchange for increased swimming-powers, which have been gained by transforming the wing into a paddle. This transformation has resulted in flattening the wing-bones—and so increasing the surface of the hand and arm whilst reducing its thickness—and the suppression of the quill-feathers. The result is a blade-like paddle closely resembling the paddle of the whale, the turtle, or the extinct fish-lizards. With this organ they cleave their way through the water, often far below the surface, in pursuit of food, just as of old their ancestors did through the air. In other diving-birds the wings are kept closely pressed to the side of the body when under water, whilst the locomotion is effected by the feet. The penguin's legs, in consequence of diminished use, have shortened considerably. But besides the wings and legs, the feathery covering has also undergone a certain amount of change. This has been effected by increasing the size of the shaft of the feather and diminishing the vane; as a result, on the front part of the wings these feathers look more like scales than feathers.
Professor Moseley has vividly described the appearance of a flock of penguins at sea. He writes from Tristan d'Acunha: "As we approached the shore, I was astonished at seeing a shoal of what looked like extremely active, very small porpoises or dolphins.... They showed black above and white beneath, and came along in a shoal of fifty or more..towards the shore at a rapid pace, by a series of successive leaps out of the water and leaps into it again ... Splash, splash, went this marvellous shoal of animals, till they went splash through the surf on to the black, stony beach, and then struggled and jumped up amongst the boulders and revealed themselves as wet and dripping penguins."
Like their relatives in other parts of the world, penguins breed in huge communities known as "rookeries," a rookery being peopled by tens of thousands. Their nests, made of small stones, are placed among the tall grass and reached by beaten pathways, exceedingly difficult to walk through. Professor Moseley thus describes a "rookery": "At first you try to avoid the nests, but soon find that impossible; then, maddened almost by the pain [for they bite furiously at the legs], stench, and noise, you have recourse to brutality. Thump, thump, goes your stick, and at each blow down goes a bird. Thud, thud, you hear from the men behind you as they kick the birds right and left off the nests; and so you go for a bit—thump, smash, whack, thud, 'caa, caa, urr, urr,' and the path behind you is strewn with the dead and dying and bleeding. Of course, it is horribly cruel thus to kill whole families of innocent birds, but it is absolutely necessary. One must cross the rookeries in order to explore the island at all, and collect the plants, or survey the coasts from the heights."
Penguins feed principally on crustacea, molluscs ("shell-fish"), and small fish, varied with a little vegetable matter. Although the legs are very short, penguins yet walk with ease, and can, on occasion, run with considerable speed. It would appear, however, as if the largest of the tribe, the Emperor-penguin, had become somewhat too bulky to run; for when speed is necessary it lies down upon the snow and propels itself with its feet, travelling, it is said, in this manner with incredible speed.
Photo by Percy Ashenden] [Cape Town.
BLACK-FOOTED PENGUINS BATHING.
The name Jackass is bestowed because the noise made by these birds closely resembles the bray of a donkey.
Penguins, though confined to the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy a wide range and every variety of climate. They are found on the Antarctic ice, on the shores of South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and inhabit many islands of the southern seas, notably the Falklands, Kerguelen, and Tristan d'Acunha. In size penguins vary greatly. The largest is the Emperor-penguin of the Antarctic seas; scarcely smaller is the King-penguin of Kerguelen Island. The emperor-penguin stands some 3½ feet high, and may weigh as much as 78 lbs. The Gentle Penguin, or "Johnny" of the sailors, is next in size, being but little smaller than the king-penguin; this species inhabits Kerguelen Island and the Falklands. The Crested Penguins, or Rock-hoppers, of which there are several species, are much smaller; they occur in the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, and the Antarctic. The South African form is known as the Black-footed Penguin. Its nearest allies are Humboldt's Penguin of Western South America, and the Jackass-penguin of the Falklands. The smallest of all is the little Blue Penguin of South Australia and New Zealand, standing only 17 inches high.