Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-07-15
CARRY THEIR EGGS.
LARGE BIRDS DISCOVERED BY Elk.
PLORERs THAT DO THIS.
The Nest Of the Albatross and Some 9th
ers L. Where They Sit Down-An Island
In the Antarctic Regions-The Expe-
rience of Audubon.


In the Antarctic Regions-The Expe-
rience Of Audubon.
Some time ago small party Of ex-
plorers landed on one of the apparently
barren islands just on the borders Of the
antarctic regions and found it inhabited
by a remarkable colony of birds that
ranged from large Mother Carey like
birds to penguins of all kinds and de-
grees. The island was fairly covered
with the feathered inhabitants, and, as
the boat ran on to rock that apparently
afforded landing, the birds, instead of
moving away, seemed determined to
resent the intrusion and stood their
ground. viciously attacking the men,
who, though they knocked the birds
aside with clubs and oars, made no ap-
preciable inroad upon their numbers
The party then formed compact
body, and, armed with boathooks to
push the shrieking throng aside, moved
up what apparently was street here
and there dotted with singular stool
like objects about feet in width,
larger at the top. These were the nests
Of the albatross, and, as the men were
especially DESTROYS of obtaining a set Of
eggs, they observed the nests very care
fully, but in every instance the bird
when approached shufaed clumsily
away, and no eggs were found, though
the birds were supposed to be sitting
upon them.
Finally q nest was found containing
an egg, but just as the men drew near
the bird a1ighted and took her place
upon it, eying them with suspicion and
uttering curious half kissing sound.
They watched her for few moments
and then forced her from the nest, when,
to their amazement, the egg had disap-
peared as completely as though it had
been swallowed up. The nest was ex-
amined closely and finally torn apart,
the men thinking that possibly the egg
might have slipped into it in some mys-
FERROUS way, but without success.
One of the party attempted to catch
an albatross, and while he was follow
ing the bird in -ludicrous chase over
the stubble an egg suddenly appeared,
dropped by the running bird, which had
all the time been carrying it, not under
her wing, as she is supposed to do at sea
by superstitious sailors, but in pecul-
lar sack in the skin provided by nature
for this very purpose.
The a1batross is famed for its power
of fight, following vessels hundreds of
| miles. Yet when nesting it apparently
forgets that it has wings, as it can be
handled and pushed about in the nest,
making no attempt to fly or move I'M
less driven away by blows. This may
be due to the fact that the egg is held
in the curious sack and the bird in
stinctively knows that it cannot fly off
with it; so 1t resists
This sly bird is called the molly
mauk. And its cousin, the great alba
tross, has a similar habit, the egg,
which is five inches in length, almost
as large as that Of swan, being held
in perfect incubating pouch.
On Marion island the explorers found
the great king penguin-a bird which
stands half as high as man, with its
bill pointing directly upward instead of
out, as with other birds. As they landed
and approached the singular creatures,
which had been standing about, they
hoped away slowly, but not an egg
could be found, a set of which was the
object Of the visit
The birds had peculiar movement.
Instead Of walking and moving one foot
after the other, or alternately, they
held them close together and hoped.
This excited the laughter of the men,
who finally toppled bird over, where
upon the eggrolled out upon the sand.
The king penguin was also an egg
carrier, not only holding it while stand
ing still, but carrying the big egg about
with it by placing it in pouch for the
purpose, holding it in with the broad
webbed feet that are kept closely to-
gether. This explained the curious hop
ping motion Of the birds, as they could
not move their feet without dropping
the egg, but the moment one was forced
to give up the prize it ran away, using
both feet, like ordinary birds.
This remarkable habit does away with
the necessity of nest, as the bird car
ries its egg with 1t as it moves about.
In these instances the birds rarely trans
port the egg to a great distance. If un-
disturbed, they probably remain about
certain locality, but there are birds
which have been known to transport
their eggs from one place to another,
| literally flying away with them. When
Audubon first heard this story of the
nighthawk, called Chuck Willis widow,
he thought it story of the negroes
Some insisted that the bird carried the
egg away under its wing; others that it
rolled the egg over the ground. To de-
termine the truth Audubon concealed
himself in the woods under nest, hav-
| ing first handled the eggs, and waited
to see what the old bird would do. The
first bird to arrive appeared very de-
jected at the discovery that the secret
home had been found, rufding up its
feathers and uttering a moaning cry
just audible to the listener. Then the
mate arrived, and, after various move
ments indicative of alarm, each bird
| took an egg in its capacious mouth and
flew softly away.
LIE Valiant, the French naturalist,
observed the collared goatsucker Of the
Cape Of Good Hope carrying off its eggs
i'll the same manner-a comparatively
easy feat, as the mouth Of all these birds
is very capacious, veritable trap when
the jaws are opened for the various in
iects upon which they feed in the dusk
between day and night.
Many birds carry their young short
distances, as the woodcock, which has
been seen carrying off little one be-
tween the claws, while it is we'll known
that the wood duck carries its young
down from the nest in trees to the wa
ter, using her bill for the purpose
Philadelphia Times.
Silenced.
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