Daily public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1892-191?, 1896-06-27

Hunters Have Hard Time Getting spec.
linens from the Albatross.

~ barren islands just on the borders OF
the Antarctic regions and found It in.
habited by remarkable colony of birds
that ranged from large Mother Carcy.
like birds to penguins of all kinds and
degrees The island was fairly covered
with the feathered inhabitants, and as
the boat ran onto a 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
prcciable inroad on their numbers
The party then formed a compact body
and, armed with boathooks to push the
shrielting throng aside, moved up whit
was apparently street, here and there
dotted with singular stool-lilSe objects
about three feet in width, larger at the
top. These were the nests of the al
batross, and, as the men were especially
DESTROYS of obtaining a set of the eggs,
they observed the nests very carefully.
but in every instance the bird when
approached shutIled clumsily away and
no eggs were found, though the birds
were supposed to be sitting upon them.
Finally nest was found containing an
egg, but just as the men drew near the
bird alighted and took her place upon
it, eying them with suspicion and utter.
ing a curious, half-hissing sound. They
watched her for few moments and
then forced her from the nest, when, to
their amazement, the egg had been
swallowed up. The nest was examined
closely and finally torn apart, the men
thinking that possibly the egg might
have slipped into it in some mysterious
way but without success. Finally one
of the party attempted to catch an al
batross, and while he was following
the bird in ludicrous chase over the
stubble an egg suddenly appeared,
dropped by the cunning bird, which had
all the time beea carrying it, not under
her wing, as she is supposed to do at sea,
by superstitous sailors, but in a pc
culiar sack in the skin provided by nat
ure for this very purpose.
The albatross is famed for its powers
of flight, following vessels hundreds of
miles. yet when nesting t apparently
forgets that it has wings, as it can be
handled and pushed about in the nest,
making no attempt to fly or move unless
driven away by blows. This may be
due to the fact that the egg is held in
the curious sack and the bird instinct
lively knows that it cannot fly Off with
it, so resists. This sly bird is called the
mollymauk, and its cousin, the great
albatross, has similar habit, the egg,
which is five inches in length, almost
as large as that of swan, being held
in perfect incnbating pouch.
On Marion island the explorers found
the great king penguin, bird which
stands half as high as man, with It's
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 n peculiar movement. In
stead of walking and moving one foot
after the other, or alternately. they
held them closely together and hoped.
This excited the laughter of the men,
who finally toppled bird over, where
upon the much-desired egg rolled out
upon the sand. The king penguin was
also an egg carrier, not only holding il
while standing still, but carrying the
big egg about with it by placing it in
a pouch for the purpose, holding il in
with the broad Webbed feet that arc
kept closely together. This explained
the curious hopping motion of the
birds, as they could not move their feet
without dropping the egg but the mo-
ment it was forced to give up the prize
it ran away, using both feet after the
manner of ordinary birds.
This remarkable habit does away
with the necessity of a nest, as the bird |
carries its egg with it as ii moves about.
In these instances the birds rarely |
transport the egg to great distance.
If undisturbed they probably remain
about certain locality, but there are
birds which have been known 10 trans
port their eggs from one place 10 an
other, literally flying away with them.
When Audubon first heard this story |
of the nighthawk called Chuckwill'a |
widow he thought it Il story Of the ne
groes. Some insisted that the bird ear
ried the egg away under its wing, others
that it rolled the egg over the ground.
To determine the truth Audubon con-
cealed himself in the woods near nest, |
having first handled the eggs, and wait
ed to see what the old bird would do.
The first bird TO arrive appeared very |
detected at the discovery that the secret
home had bren found, rutiing 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, OBJ
served the collared goatsGcker of the
Cape of Good Hope carrying Off its oggs
in the same manner--a comparatively |