42 Wild Birds and their Haunts 



When visitors approach the islands these big birds with 

 greenish eyes take flight, and at once the gulls fly to their 

 nests and dexterously clear out every egg. Thus it 

 would seem that bad weather is really the best for the 

 cormorant, as then no visitors can land and the bird keeps 

 to his nest. The voracity of this bird has long been 

 proverbial, and once led to unfavourable comment : 



The Cormorant (or Shag) frequents our coasts ; 

 A most amazing appetite he boasts. 

 No other fowl that flies, not even the puffin, 

 Such quantities of provender can stuff in. 

 To see the rascal feed, you'd think he'd fasted 

 As long as good King George's reign has lasted ; 

 In fact, his name's another word for glutton ; 

 But, sooth to say, he doesn't care a button ! " 



As the boat approached their haunt, the Megstone 

 Island, a line of these big birds could distinctly be 

 seen standing like sentinels on the horizon, and if a 

 more conclusive proof were needed to assure one of their 

 vicinity, one has it in the offensive odour wafted on the 

 breeze. 



I once spent a most interesting time in watching the 

 manoeuvres of this species of sea-bird in the matter of 

 nest construction. 



From my point of vantage I saw the mated pair 

 selecting the site for the future home, while some four 

 or five others were busily employed, dragging long 

 fibrous pieces of seaweed stalks and other impedimenta 

 to the rendezvous of the nest. Then the pair placed 

 these in position preparatory to the egg deposits. In- 

 deed, for the space of a couple of hours, the scene presented 

 was one of earnest business, carried out with a deter- 

 mination that would have merited approbation in human 

 enterprise. 



It has been observed that young cormorants can 

 swim before they can properly walk, for on their first 

 visit to the ocean they seem to shuffle along till they 

 reach the edge of a precipitous cliff and then merely 

 topple over. 



Next to the Kittiwakes the most interesting bird 

 appears to be the Tern, and special care is paid to its 



