Evening journal., 1897-04-23
CARRY THEIR EGGS.
LARGE BIRDS DISCOVERED BY Ex-
PLORERS THAT DO THIS.

In tho antarctic Regions Aho hAlf-
rionce OF Audubon.
Some time ago small party of ex-
plorers landed ON one of the apparently
barren islands tust on the borders Of the
antarctic regions and found it inhabited
by 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, rs
the boat ran ON 10 o rock that apparently |
afforded a landing, the birds, instead Of |
moving away, seemed determined TO |
resent the intrusion and stood their |
ground. viciously attacking the mon,
who, though they knocked the birds
aside with clubs and oars, made no mp |
preciablc inroad upon their numbers.
The party then formed a compact !
body and, armed with boathooks TO
push the shrioBing thrcng aside, moved
up what apparently was a street here
and there dotted with singular stool
! like objects about feet in width,
larger at the top. These were the nests
Of the alba1oss, and. as the men were
/ especially desirous Of obtaining set of
eggs, they observed the nests very care
fully, but in every instance tho bird
when approached shuiicd clumsily
away, and 10 eggs were found, though
the birds wero supposed 70 bc sitting
upon them.
Finally q nest was found containing
an egg but just as the men drew near
the bird alightcd and took her place
upon it. eying them with suspicion and
uttering a 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 1t had
been swallowed up The nest was ex-
amincd closely and finally torn apart,
tho men thinking that possibly the egg
might have slipped into 1t in some mys-
terious way, but without success.
One of the party attempted TO catch
an albatross, and while he was follow
ing the bird in a ludicrous chase over
the stubblc an egg suddenly appeared,
= dropped by the running bird, which had
all the time been carrying IL, not under
her wing, as she is supposed TO do at sea
. by suporstitious sailors. but in pecul.
! lar sack in the skin provided by nature
= for this very purpose.
The albatross is famed for its power
g of fight, following vessels hundreds O
- miles Yet when nesting it apparently
r forgets that it has wings. as it can b'
: handled and pushed about in the nest
making no attempt 20 fly or move un
10 less driven away by blows This ma.
A be due TO the fact that the egg is he'll
ID in the curious sack and the bird IN
De- stinctivCly knows that it cannot fly o
with it; so it rcsists.
~ This sly bird is called the mol
y mauk And it's cousin, the great alba
!. tross, has similar habit, the egg
= which is five inches in length, almos
T. as large as that of swan, being bel
in perfect incubating pouch.
On Marion island the explorers foun
,r tho great king ponguin--a bird whic
T. stands half as Ugh as "a man, with II
ll bin pointing dil city upward instead
e.. ont. with Other birds. AS they landc
To and arrIcachcd the singular creatures
v, which had been standing about, the
- hoped away slowly, but not an eg
~ could be found. q set Of which was IL
object Of tho visit
e. The birds had peculiar movemen
id Instead Of walking and moving one fo'
a after the other or alternately tho
is held them close together and hoppe
In This excited the laughter Of the mel
vi who finally topplcd bird over, wher
80 upon the egg rolled out upon the sand
bo The king penguin was also an el
.,.4 I,,f,1f,,fr a xtrItf Ia cfuf
lot ing still, but carrying the big egg abo
with it by placing it in a pouch for Il
tn purpose, holding it in with the broi
NJ wcbbed feet that are kept closely
ire gcther. This explained the curious no
F ping motion of the birds, as they cou
,er not move their feet without droppii
the egg, but the moment one was fore
to give up the prize it ran away, usii
both feet, like ordinary birds.
ne This remarkable habit does away wi
,p- the necessity Of a nest, as the bird C,
RIGS its egg with it as it moves aboI
n. In these instances the bir0s rarely tran
W. port the egg to a great distance II u
l,S disturbed, they probably remain about
w. certain locality, but there are hil
1,,. which have been known to transp'
iv- their eggs from one place 70 aholh
literally flying away with them. VIII
err; Audubon first heard this story Of
lie. nighthawk, called Chuck Wits wido
AL ne thought it a story Of the negro
ar Some insisted that the bird carried
an egg away under its wing; others that
rolled the egg over the ground To
terminc the truth Audubon concca
,,s, himself i'm the woods under nest, h
im- ing first handled the eggs and wal
ia to see what The old bird would do. 2
'nt. first bird 20 arrive appeared very
ion iccted at the discovery that tho sec
pon home had been found, ruiiing up
NY, feathers and uttcring a meaning
anu au Just audible TO the listener. Then
,hi 7 mate arrived, and, after various mo
the mcnts indicative of alarm, each
,rx. took am egg i'm its capacious mouth
bills ncH softly away.
lorc Le valiant, the French natural