The dead bodies of hundreds of chicks are seen strewn about the rookery, and especially in the neighbourhood of the Skuas' nests, as very often they carry them there. All these dead chicks are seen to have two holes picked through their backs, one on each side, corresponding to the position of each kidney. Besides the penguins' eggs and young, there is another fruitful source of food for the Skuas to be found along the Antarctic coasts at the early part of the year, and that is during the time when the seals are bringing forth their young upon the sea-ice. The Skuas attend upon them then, and devour the after-births. In the second volume of the _Discovery_ reports Dr. Wilson mentions that large numbers of Skuas were noticed at Granite Harbour, and I have no doubt that they had congregated there for this purpose, as when passing the spot on a spring journey along the sea-ice in 1912, we saw many hundreds of Weddell seals with their young. So many were there, that as we lay in our sleeping-bags during the night, the bleating of the little calves near our tents conveyed to our half-awakened senses the impression that we were in the midst of lambing fields at home! * * * * * The soft parts are coloured as follows: _Bill_, black. _Iris_, dark brown. _Legs_, _toes_, and _webbs_, black, excepting a patch of bright blue just above the tibio-metatarsal joint, in young fledglings. Wholly black afterwards. (They have a very fine spread of webb.) _Claws_, black. The feathers of the head, neck, and breast vary from very light buff, or almost white, to rich dark brown. Skuas' Time Table +--------------------+-------------------+------------+ | | McMurdo Sound | Cape Adare | +--------------------+-------------------+------------+ | | 1902 1903 | 1911 | | 1st bird arrived | Nov. 3 Oct. 25 | Oct. 26 | | 1st egg seen | Dec. 9 Dec. 2 | Nov. 29 | | 1st chick hatched | Jan. 1 | | | Last bird left | Mar. 30 Apr. 7 | | +--------------------+-------------------+------------+ A SHORT NOTE ON EMPEROR PENGUINS(9) (9) _Aptenodytes forsteri._ 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.