HARDWICKE'S SC I ENCE- GOSSIP. 



129 



dry in the sun, we wrapped them up each in a towel, 



bound their beaks, and carried them off. The cock 



we gave to a friend who was anxious to tame it : he 



managed to feed it on fish and raw meat, and kept 



it for a week. Unfortunately, a dog got hold of it 



one day and so hurt it that the poor beast died, 



for which we were all very sorry. I believe they 



are easily tamed, but they eat such a lot — twice 



their own weight in a day — and they smell so 



strong that they do not make the pbasante of 



pets. 



The hen we took down to the rocks ; we fastened 



one end of a long fishing-line to her leg. We 



wanted her to catch us some fish ; but she did not 



seem to understand ; at all events she would not 



catch any ; finally, we let her go. She knew directly 



that she was free, and took a long dive, swimming 



straight out to sea. We soon lost sight of her, and 



no doubt she found her way back to her old roosting- 



place, "a sadder but a wiser " bird. 



-« * * * * 



These birds were not the common Cormorant, but 

 the Green Cormorant or Crested Shag(P/ialacrocorr/.v 

 graculus or P. cristatiis), a smaller bird, but easily 

 distinguishable by that and its prevailing green 

 colour. My friends called them scarts, which I 

 suppose is the Scotch name. We measured them, 

 and found them to be from the tip of the beak 

 to the extremity of the tail, 2 ft. 4 in., and across 

 the wings from tip to tip, 3 ft. 6 in. ; they weighed 

 about 4 lb. 



The bill was hooked at the point of the upper 

 mandible; the nostrils were slits, running up the 

 beak. When feeding them, I observed a bare place 

 under the lower mandible, which seemed to hold the 

 food, but which was not noticeable except when full 

 The tail, comprised of twelve feathers, was long and 

 very stiff ; in both birds the feathers had.the appear- 

 ance of having been worn round, as though they used 

 their tails for props when sitting; perhaps, also, 

 they make use of them in climbing the rocks. The 

 legs, placed well back, were short and strong ; the 

 feet webbed; the four toes united by a single 

 membrane ; the claw of the middle toe serrated, 

 like that of the Heron, apparently in order that 

 it may be used in trimming the plumage. The cock 

 was a glossy green, the wings being beautifully 

 mottled with brown. The feathers on their backs 

 had the appearance of fine hair, very close. There 

 was no white about them, except the curious line on 

 their beaks. Their eyes were like emeralds, and 

 when they were angry there were red rings round 

 them, which made them look very One. Their legs 

 and feet were dark, those of the cock being almost 

 black. The hen was browner and coarser-looking 

 ban the cock. The cock had a fine crest. As this 

 was in January, it is evidently a mistake to suppose 

 they are crested only in the breeding season. 



Feb. 22nd. — Again to the rocks, but it was too 



fine a night ; the water that trickled down there was 

 frozen, and the frost was so hard that we could not 

 pass through the grass without making a rustling 

 noise ; another drawback lay in the tide being low, 

 the birds being on the low, barnacled rocks, we 

 could not get at them by land. They seemed wide 

 awake, as we could hear them fighting and diving 

 into the water, which was like a sheet of glass, 

 reflecting myriads of stars. Is it about their 

 breeding time, that they were so restless ? When 

 we found the shags " no go," we went after the 

 herons, and seeing one asleep, we got to within a 

 couple of yards of it, when some absurd instinct 

 caused it to untuck its head, though it could not 

 have heard us ; it must have wakened up by the 

 merest fluke. Of course it was gone in a moment; 

 but to our astonishment it was followed by five 

 others, which we had not seen. One was a magnifi- 

 cent cock, and A. shot it the following morning, and 

 the stuffer said it was the finest specimen he had 

 ever seen. They are up the river now. 



March 10M. — We were out again last Saturday, 

 and caught one of the large cormorants (P. carbo). 

 It had an abominally strong smell, far worse than 

 the little green ones, and its plumage was not so 

 handsome ; the feathers on its back were blue on 

 the face of them, brown underneath, and a sort of 

 dirty white where they reached the skin ; I mean 

 the hair-like covering of its back and breast. It 

 was fully twice the size of the green shag. 



lit/i.— We found the ravens had built their nest, 

 and lined it with wool. They were flying about all 

 the time we were there, perching now and then on 

 an edge of rock, not many yards from us. We have 

 been watching the falcons (peregrine) lately, and 

 can form a good idea where they are likely to build; 

 one place we could easily get at. There are but 

 two pairs of ravens about here, one at the Head, and 

 the other at the D — ; and a pair of peregrines at 

 each place. 



April &/i. — A. visited our ravens about a week 

 ago, and took one egg (there were three, and we 

 expected that one would be laid afterwards). I 

 went there a few days ago and there was a stone in 

 the nest, a piece of rock which had peeled off from 

 above, and partly crushed one of the eggs The 

 ravens have built again, and are now sitting. A. 

 lays traps baited with egg-shells to catch a red- 

 legged crow, but they have declined to be caught, 

 so far ; though we have the chance of a " Grip " like 

 Barnaby lludge's, which loved to cry " No 

 Popery." 



[Since the last addendum was penned (on Good 

 Friday), one of the young men who took part in the 

 hunt " After Cormorants," Mr. Alfred Rudd, lost 

 his life whilst seeking for birds' nests in company 

 with the writer of the present article. The latter 

 gentleman had fallen from a height of 120 feet into 

 the water, and is still lying ill from the effects. 



