THE VORACITY OF THE CORMORANT. 267 
in all parts of the globe, and always on the sea-coast or at the 
mouths of rivers. They are excellent swimmers and clever divers, 
pursuing with extraordinary rapidity the fish on which they feed. 
The Cormorant swallows its prey head first ; and af it happens 
to catch it by the wrong end, it will throw it up in the air, and seize 
it again in its bill as it descends in the proper position, - When it 
has caught an eel, a good half-hour sometimes elapses before it can 
succeed in swallowing it. It may be seen making the most violent 
efforts to swallow its prey; and just at the moment when one 
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would think that the slippery morsel was successfully absorbed, the 
fish suddenly reappears again, still struggling to escape ; the Cor- 
morant swallows it again; the eel still resists, and increases its efforts 
to escape; worn out at last by its prolonged and useless efforts, the 
Victim is finally compelled to resign itself to fate. 
The appetite of the Cormorant is insatiable. The havoc which it 
commits in rivers is very great, for the consumption of a single bird 
in one day frequently amounts to six or eight pounds of fish, these it 
pursues principally under water, for it is an expert diver and most 
successful hunter. In consequence of the skill displayed by the 
Cormorant in fishing, and the ease with which it is tamed, it is reared 
