A STUDY OF THEIR SOCIAL HABITS BY DR. G. MURRAY LEVICK, R.N. ZOOLOGIST TO THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION [1910–1913] LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN First Published March 1914 Second Impression May 1914 LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1914...

The penguins of the Antarctic regions very rightly have been termed the true inhabitants of that country. The species is of great antiquity, fossil remains of their ancestors having been found, which showed that they flourished as far back as the eocene epoch. To a degree far in advance of any other bird, the penguin has adapted itself to the sea as a means of livelihood, so that it rivals the very fishes. This proficiency in the water has been gained at the expense of its power of flight, but t

Diary from October 13 to November 3, describing the arrival of the Adélie penguins at the rookery, and habits during the periods of mating and building. The first Adélie penguins arrived at the Ridley Beach rookery, Cape Adare, on October 13. A blizzard came on then, with thick drift which prevented any observations being made. The next day, when this subsided, there were no penguins to be seen. On October 15 two of them were loitering about the beach. During the forenoon they were separate, but

Laying and incubation of the eggs : The Adélies' habits in the water : Their games : Care of the young : The later development of their social system. On November 3 several eggs were found, and on the 4th these were beginning to be plentiful in places, though many of the colonies had not yet started to lay. Let me here call attention to the fact that up to now not a single bird out of all those thousands had left the rookery once it had entered it. Consequently not a single bird had taken food o

The following description of the plumage and soft parts of Pygoscelis Adeliæ , which is perfectly correct, is taken from the zoological report of the Discovery Expedition. “ Bill , when first hatched, blackish. A week old, black terminally, deep red at the gape and along the cutting edges. Immature of the first year, blackish. Adult, brick-red, the upper bill black terminally, and the mandible black along the cutting edge. “ Iris , brown; varying between reddish brown and greenish brown. “ Eyeli

A book which treats of Adélie penguins scarcely can be complete without reference to the beautiful McCormick's skua gull ( Megalestris maccormicki ), as probably no Adélie rookery exists without its attendant band of skuas, who build their own nests very close to and occasionally among those of the penguins on whom they prey, almost entirely supporting themselves and their young upon the eggs and young offspring of their hosts. Mention has been made of these birds from time to time through the p

The Emperor is by far the largest of all penguins, weighing between 80 and 90 lbs. It is also a particularly handsome and graceful bird. By nature it seems much like the Adélie, except that its general demeanour is extremely dignified, and its gait, as it approaches you over the snow, slow and deliberate. The most marked difference in the habits of the Adélie and the Emperor lies in the respective seasons at which each lays and incubates its eggs. Unlike the Adélie, which, as we have seen, choos