. The oist . One that we held captive for awhilebecame quite docile after a couple ofliours drilling before the camera. Itposed and preened its feathers at curfeet and sitting straight up in itscomical way. When it discovered thatit was free to go, it put down its head,held out its flippers in the attitude ofreadiness for all emergencies, aimedfor the sea and started straiglit towarda sheer precipice oeiow which thebreakers were roaring ominously. Wetried to head it off for we had notthought of suicide. It beat us to theedge, however, and over it went. Itfell about 25 feet and struck a narrowl
. The oist . One that we held captive for awhilebecame quite docile after a couple ofliours drilling before the camera. Itposed and preened its feathers at curfeet and sitting straight up in itscomical way. When it discovered thatit was free to go, it put down its head,held out its flippers in the attitude ofreadiness for all emergencies, aimedfor the sea and started straiglit towarda sheer precipice oeiow which thebreakers were roaring ominously. Wetried to head it off for we had notthought of suicide. It beat us to theedge, however, and over it went. Itfell about 25 feet and struck a narrowledge, bounded off to another rock andfinally disappeared in the foamingwaters. A few moments later we werepleased to see its head moving sea-ward, beyond the rough water and ap-parently none the worse for the fall. We had no difficulty of obtaining aphotograph of an old bird on the nest,for no amount of disturbance wouldscare her away. We cut and pulled attlie grass to expose a nesting site, THE OOLOGIST 108. .ittle Blue Penruin. In Natural Su.: cundings, Montagus Island, New South Wales Australia Photo by L L. Redrick. 104 THE OOLOGIST raked the eggs out from under her, butthere she sat ready and waiting heropportunity. On one occasion we dug out a coupleof these birds. They were probablyyoung, fully fledged, but up to themoment still dependent on the rationsbrought in daily by the parent. Wefilled the burrow with grass so thatthey could not get back into it first they were undecided what todo and we got a snap or two. Thenthey made a wild scramble for mewater, down a rocky slope, rolling andtumbling to the water some 600 feet ormore away. At night th^y set up a weird melody,an incessant wail, late into the numbers are evident at calls of the home-comers and themoaning sounds of the expectant onesand the parleys at the nests reachyour ears from every side Someseem far away, some near at handcoming even from under the floor ofthe very porch at the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidoist39al, booksubjectbirds
