WATCHING SHAGS AND GUILLEMOTS 173 



" The male bird now flies out to sea again, and after 

 a time returns carrying a long piece of brown seaweed 

 in his bill. This he delivers to the female, who takes 

 it from him and deposits it on the heap, as she sits. 

 Meanwhile, the male flies off again, and again returns 

 with more seaweed, which he delivers as before, and 

 this he does eight times in the space of one hour 

 and forty minutes, diving each time for the seaweed 

 with the true cormorant leap. Sometimes the sitting 

 bird, when she takes the seaweed from her mate, 

 merely lets it drop on the heap, but at others she 

 places and manipulates it with some care. All takes 

 place in silence for the most part, but on some of 

 the visits the heads are thrown up and there are 

 sounds — hoarse and deeply guttural — as of gratulation 

 between the two. 



" Once the male bird, standing on the rock, pulls at 

 some green seaweed growing there, and after a time 

 gets it off. 



('It was rather tough work to pull out the cork, 

 But he drew it at last with his teeth.') 



" The female is much interested, stretches forward 

 with her neck over the nest and takes the seaweed 

 as soon as it is loose, before the other can pass it to 

 her. Then she arranges it on the nest, the male 

 looking on the while as though she were the bride 

 cutting the cake. Now he hops on to the nest again, 

 and both together (for I think the male joins) arrange 

 or pull the seaweed about with their beaks. One 

 would think that the nest was still a-building and 

 that the eggs were not yet laid. This last, however, 

 is not the case. Several times, whilst waiting alone, 



