Following their leaders, the penguins dived through the surf and
reappeared in the heaving water beyond. A very few of the weaker birds
took fright and made their way back to the beach, where they fell
victims later to our needs; but the main army went northwards and we
saw them no more. We feared that the gentoo penguins might follow the
example of their ringed cousins, but they stayed with us; apparently
they had not the migratory habit. They were comparatively few in
number, but from time to time they would come in from the sea and walk
up our beach. The gentoo is the most strongly marked of all the smaller
varieties of penguins as far as colouring is concerned, and it far
surpasses the adelie in weight of legs and breast, the points that
particularly appealed to us.
The deserted rookery was sure to be above high-water mark at all
times; and we mounted the rocky ledge in search of a place to pitch our
tents. The penguins knew better than to rest where the sea could reach
them even when the highest tide was supported by the strongest gale.
The disadvantages of a camp on the rookery were obvious. The smell was
strong, to put it mildly, and was not likely to grow less pronounced
when the warmth of our bodies thawed the surface. But our choice of
places was not wide, and that afternoon we dug out a site for two tents
in the debris of the rookery, levelling it off with snow and rocks.
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