The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-31
BIRDS THAT CARRY EGGS.
Hunters Have Hard Time Getting
Specimens From the AIbRtrOss.

From the Philadelphia Times.
Some time ago small party Of explor-
ers landed on one of the apparently barren
islands just on the borders of the Antarc-
tic regions and found it inhabited by re-
marEable colony of birds that ranged from
large Mother Carey-like birds to PEN
gums of ali kinds and degrees. The is
land was fairly covered with the feather
ed inhabitants; and as the boat ran on
to a rock that apparently afforded a land
ing, the birds, instead Of moving away.
seemed determined to resent the intru-
sion and stood their ground, vicously at
lacking the men, who, though they knock
ed the birds aside with cubs and oars,
made no appreciable inro2d upon their
numbers
The party then formed a compact body
and, armed with boat hooks to push the
shriekng throng aside, moved up what
was apparently a street here and there
dotted with singular stool-like objects
about three feet in width. larger at the
top. These were the nests of the alba
trOss, and as the men were especially de-
sirous Of obtaining set of the EGGS they
every instance the bird, when approached,
shutfied clumsily away, and no eggs were
found, though the birds were supposed to
be sitting upon them.
Finally a nest was found containing an
egg, but just as the men drew near the
bird alighted and took her place upon it,
a curious half-hissing sound. They
watched her for a few moments, then
forced her from the nest, when, TO their
amazement, the egg had disappeared as
completely as though IL had been swallow
ed up. The nest was examined closely and
| finally torn apart, the men thinking that
in some mys terious way but without sue
cess. Finally one of the party attempted
to catch an albatross, and while he was
/ following the bird in a ludicrous chase
over the stubhle an egg suddenly appear
ed, dropped by the cunning bird which had
all the time been carrying il; not under
her wing, as she is supposed TO do at sea
by superstiJious sailors. but in a peculiar
sack in the skin provided by nature for
The abatross is famed for its powers of
/ flight following vessels hundreds of
miles; yet, when nesting, it apparently
/ forgets that 1t has wings, as It can be
4 handled and pushed about in the nest,
/ making no attempt to fly or move unless
I driven away by blows. This may be due
1 to the fact that the egg is held in the
curious sack and the bird instinctively
! knows that it cannot fly off with it, so re-
sists.
This sly bird is called the molly-mauk.
/ and its cousin, the great albatross, has a
similar habit, the egg, which is five
I inches in length, almost as large as that
/ of a swan, being held in a perfect in
/ on Marion Island the explorers found
/ the great king penguin-a bird which
/ stands half as high as a man, with its
! bill pointing directly upward instead of
/ out, as with other birds AS they land
/ ed and approached the singular creatures.
/ which had been standing about, they hop
ped away slowly, but not an egg could be
found a set of which was the object
/ of the visit.
! The birds had a peculiar movement; in
! stead Of walking and moving one foot
1 after the other, or alternately, they held
| them closely together and hoped. This
excited the laughter of the men, who fl
/ nally toppled a bird over, Whereupon the
much desired egg rolled out upon the
/ sand.
The king penguin was also an egg-car-
rier. not only holding it while standing
/ still, but carrying the big egg about with
! 1t BY placing II in pouch for the pur-
! pose, holding it in with the broad webbed
| feet that are 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
| moment one was forced to give up the
! prize Il ran away, using both feet after
/ the manner of ordinary birds
! This remarkable habit does away with
/ the necessity Of nest, as the bird car
! ries its egg with it as it moves about
! In these instances the birds rarely
! transport the egg to great distance.
/ If undisturbed they probably remain
about a certain locality; but there are
/ birds which have been known to trans
| port their eggs from one place to an
| other, literally flying away with them
! When Audubon first heard this story Of
! the nighthawk called Chuckwiils widow.
/ he thought 1t story of the negroes.
/ Some insisted that the bird carried the egg
/ away uilu6I IT'S WlISs OlneES Lnal IL rolled
/ its egg over the ground. To determine
! the truth, Audubon concealed himself in
| the woods near a nest, having first han
! died the eggs, and waited to see what the
old bird would do. The first bird to ar
! rived appeared very detected at the dis
| covery that the secret home had been
! found, ruling up its feathers and utter
| ing a moaning cry just audible to the
! listener. Then the mate arrived. and
after various movements indicative of
alarm. each bird took an egg in its ca
! pacious mouth, and flew softly away.
! lie valiant, the French naturalist, OBJ
| served the collared gOatsucker of the
| Cape of Good Hope carrying Off its eggs
| in the same Manner compare lively
easy feat, as the mouth Of all these birds
| IS very capaciOUs; Veritable trap when
! the jaws are opened for the various in
/ sects upon which they feed in the dusk
! between day and night.
| Many birds carry their young short dis
! tances, as the woodcock, which has been
seen bearing off a little one between its
| claws while il is well known that the
| woodduck carries its young down from
| the nest in trees TO the wafer using her
! bill for the purpose.
The Finest Cut-GIass.
In selecting cut glass see that the name
/ Iibbey with q sword under it, is emf in tho