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NATURAL HISTORY. 



PHALACROCOEAX. (Gr. Qahaicpog, bald; /copaf, a Raven.) 



Carbo (Lat. a Coal), the Cormorant. 



The CORMORANT is found in abundance on our coasts, and 

 is widely spread over many parts of the world. It is exceed- 

 ingly voracious, and devours an almost incredible amount of 

 fish. It is an excellent diver, and chases the fish actually 

 under the water, seldom, if ever, returning without having 

 secured its prey. Like the otter, when engaged in chase, it 

 occasionally rises to take breath, and then resumes the 

 pursuit with renewed vigour. Waterton gives the following 

 amusing description of the proceedings of a Cormorant : 

 " First raising his body nearly perpendicular, down he plunges 

 into the deep, and after staying there a considerable time 

 he is sure to bring up a fish, which he invariably swallows head 

 foremost. Sometimes half an hour elapses before he can 

 manage to accommodate a large eel quietly in his stomach. 

 You see him straining violently with repeated efforts to gulp 

 it, and when you fancy that the slippery mouthful is success- 



