104 THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 



I tried the edible qualities of a Cormorant's egg, the white of 

 which (excuse the " bull ") was of a pale emerald-green, and on 

 the whole I should not recommend it as a delicacy. 



I am not so well acquainted with the Black Cormorant 

 (Phalacrocorax carlo) as with the green (P. graculus), but I have 

 frequently seen it in the summer with the white patches fully 

 developed, and I never observed any to possess crests, though 

 the feathers on the top of the head are very much elongated. 

 In the Green Cormorant the crest is a most conspicuous ornament, 

 visible at a great distance, consisting of several hackle-like feathers 

 two or three inches long, gracefully curving forward. It is gen- 

 erally only possessed by the fully matured birds during the 

 breeding season, but even then many birds that are nesting are 

 without it ; while, on the other hand, I have sometimes seen the 

 crest quite developed in winter. At this moment I have a fine 

 skin with a beautiful crest of one which was shot in March. 



I forgot, when mentioning our quadrupeds, to notice the fact 

 of a supposed Greenland Seal having been seen in Loch Scridean, 

 a long arm of the sea near here. It was in spring that it was 

 there, and it was several times seen lying upon a rock surrounded 

 by the sea. A gentleman, who resides in the neighbourhood, 

 offered a reward of five pounds for its capture, which unfortu- 

 nately was not effected. 



A few days ago I took a little punt up to a large fresh-water 

 loch, where I had an opportunity of watching some Grebes. 

 The air was perfectly still, and the surface of the water was like 

 a sheet of glass. When at a distance from one another the 

 Grebes called to one another until they met, This cry was a 



