COEMORANT 71 



neath one of these trees ! It was no place for a full-dress 

 suit and a plug hat. Of all the bird rookeries, that of the 

 Cormorant is undoubtedly the filthiest. It reeks in filth ; 

 the ground beneath is moist and muddy, and is covered 

 with excrement and partly digested and decayed fish, 

 while all around are scattered the mouldering bodies of 

 dead birds that have either died in the nest and been 

 pushed out, or have fallen and been killed by the fall, 

 or have starved to death after falling, since the old birds 

 do not come to the ground to feed the fallen young. The 

 trees are thoroughly calcimined and myriads of small 

 red bird-lice are to be found on every leaf or floating 

 in the air. Add to all this the dense foliage and prison- 

 like bars of mangrove bordering the water's edge of the 

 island, the mosquitoes with rapacious appetites and 

 the humid atmosphere and you have some idea of the 

 abundance of the inducements offered one to stay away 

 from these rookeries and let the birds enjoy to their 

 fullest their freedom and home comforts. 



I have seen an old bird disgorge a fish ten or twelve 

 inches long — one that must weigh fully a pound — into a 

 nest beside the young and then depart, as if to say, 

 "There you are! Help yourself !" That, however, is a 

 task not always easily accomplished by the young birds ; 

 hence every few minutes a big juicy fish finds its way to 

 the ground. This must account for the number of Man- 

 o-war birds that I saw sitting on the edge of the Cormo- 

 rants' nests, for the Man-o-war birds are great flyers 

 and secure their food by attacking other birds and taking 

 their meal from them. Evidently, the long-winged birds 

 were eating the disgorged fish by the side of the young 

 Cormorants. (Fig. 22.) 



The old Cormorants, in a moment of surprise or 

 excitement, will divide their last meal with the man under 

 the tree, with reckless disregard of the features of the 

 visitor and his wearing apparel. I can testify to the fact. 

 The last day I put in at this rookery I was forced to wade 

 into the Gulf of Mexico and launder my outer and under 

 clothing before I was in a fit condition to return to civili- 

 zation or could be passed on favorably by the Board of 

 Health. 



