BIRDS OF THE SEA 449 



pursues its quivering prey. In point of speed the 

 swiftest fisli appears to be hopelessly outmatched. 

 In a few seconds the relentless bill overtakes it and 

 it instantly disappears. Differing from many other 

 birds, the Cormorant does not rise to the surface 

 in order to swallow its captive. The American 

 Darter spears its victim with its needle-like bill, and 

 ascending, thrusts its head clear of the water and 

 detaches the fish with an upward movement of the 

 tongue, catching it again neatly between its man- 

 dibles directly it is free. But the insatiable voracity 

 of the Cormorant admits of no such delay. The 

 fish vanishes like a fly before a swallow, and with- 

 out a check in its speed the black hunter is again 

 in pursuit. 



Both the Cormorants and the Shags breed in the 

 higher cliffs, their nests being formed mainly of 

 sea-weed and coarse grass. The three to five eggs 

 are covered with a white chalky material, rough in 

 texture, which appears to be superadded to the true 

 shell. 



The Shag may be at once distinguished from the 

 Common Cormorant by its smaller size and gener- 

 ally greener hue. In addition, the adult male 

 Cormorant has a broad patch of white upon the 

 thigh, lacking in the Shag. 



Leaving the island, with Great and Lesser Black- 

 backed Gulls and Herring Gulls innumerable fly- 

 ing around its rocky shores, we steer for the open 

 sea. Out in the west we see dimly three irregular 

 mountain peaks. These mark one of the chief nest- 

 ing stations in Great Britain, where on the craefs, 



29 



