284 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS 



trained Cormorants fishing, I can confirm the state- 

 ment made by my ohl friend F. H. Salvin {Ibis, 1891, 

 p. 150), that these birds never use their wings under 

 water, as Guillemots and Razorbills do. Mr. A. H. 

 Evans is mistaken in his assertion to the contrary 

 ("Cambridge Nat. Hist. Birds," 1899, p. 78). 



For a long chapter on the history and practice 

 of fishing with trained Cormorants, see my " Essays 

 on Sport and Natural History," 1883. 



A remarkable peculiarity has been observed in the 

 nostrils of the Cormorant. Although at first open in 

 the young, the nares become closed so soon as the 

 bird is able to take to the water and feed itself, 

 and ever after remain so : it then breathes through 

 the mouth. (Sec Cossar Ewart, Journ. Linn. Soc. 

 ZooL, 1881, p. 455 ; Lucas, The Auk, vol. xiv. p. 87, 

 and Pycraft, Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool., 1899, p. 207.) 

 After continued submersion whilst fishing, these 

 birds may be seen perched, drying their extended 

 wings, and with their mouths wide open for in- 

 halation. 



The weight of a Cormorant is from 7^ to 8 lbs. 



GREEN CORMORANT or SHAG. Phalacrocorax cris- 

 tatus (Faber). PL 32, iig. 5. Length, 30 in.; bill, 

 2'5 in. ; wing, 10*5 in. ; tarsus, 2-25 in. 



So called from the Gaelic seahhag, a hawk, 

 pronounced she-ag. Resident, but not so numerous 

 as the last named, except perhaps in the northern 

 and western isles of Scotland. In the Dorsetshire 

 cliffs, however, it entirely takes the place of its 



