Cormorants 35 



without any additional part of the body being shewn from start to 

 finish of the action (Fig. 4). 



These Divers can hardly ever be induced to fly ; they trust 

 almost entirely to their diving, to escaj)e from any awkward situation 

 they ma}^ find themselves in, and, I suppose, their diving is mechan- 

 ically more perfect than that ol the Cormorant, but it is much less 

 interesting to watch. 



Shags are exceedingly plentiful on most of the rocky shores on 

 the west coast of Scotland and Ireland, where they far outnumber 

 the Cormorants. There is, therefore, no objection to shooting a 

 few if the specimens are wanted to serve any useful purpose. 



As food, the natives of some parts hold them in some estimation. 

 An old moonlighter on the Galwa}' coast, who was in the habit of 

 accompanying me on my sea-going expeditions, told me he preferred 

 a Shag to a Wild Duck, and I generally shot two or three in the week 

 for his table. For myself, I have never had the courage to taste 

 one, whether old or young, and I hope I never may. I imagine that 

 they must be incredibly fishy and nasty. 



I believe that Shags might be utilized to good purpose, however, 

 by naturalists, who are engaged in working out the fish-fauna of 

 a district, more especially of the wild and rocky shores forming the 

 Shags' home. 



They obtain most of their fish near the bottom, but nothing 

 that passes their way comes amiss, and one often finds their gullets 

 crammed with fish of several different species, and sometimes of 

 quite rare kinds. After the contents of their crop have been 

 examined, the bodies could be utilized as food by the natives, and 

 the feathers have some small value for bedding purposes. 



The following is a note on the contents of the stomachs, etc., 

 of two Shags shot on the Galwaj- coast, and serves for an illustration 

 of the service they might be, on occasions, to the man working out 

 the fish of the district. 



1. c^ adult. — The stomach was filled out with a green-streaked 

 wrasse, measuring eight-and-a-half inches in length, and the tail- 

 portion of another fish. 



2. ? adult. — The stomach was filled with an entire wrasse, 

 seven-and-a-half inches long, the remains of several smaller ones, 

 and two small gar-pike, four inches in length. 



The larger species of Cormorants, commonly called " the 

 Cormorant," is closely-allied to the Shag in many ways, and its 

 habits are in the main very similar, though they present some 

 striking differences, which I can only just touch upon. The young 

 of the year resemble those of the Shag so much, that the two birds are 

 often confused, but they may be readily distinguished b}' the number 

 of tail feathers, this species having 14, as against 12 in the Shag. 



As to its breeding sites, it commonly selects steep cliffs or rocky 

 islets, and never, as far as I am aware, makes use of the sea caves 

 so popular with the .Shag. It is far more gregarious than the smaller 



