58 The Birds of Pembrokeshire. 
CORMORANT, Phalacrocorax carbo.—A common resident. There 
are nesting stations at various places on the coast, on Ramsey 
and Skomer Islands, &c. There are some twenty to thirty pair 
of Cormorants about Lydstep Head, near Tenby, as Mr. C. 
Jefferys informs us; a colony nests on trees at Slebech ; and 
some Herons that nested at Poyntz Castle on St. Bride’s Bay, 
were driven from their nests upon the cliffs by Cormorants, who 
took possession of them for themselves. The nesting places of 
the Cormorants emit an abominable stench from putrid fish 
remains, and are not delightful to linger near. In the summer- 
time, when the streams are low and clear, numerous Cormorants 
come inland, and work great havoc among the trout; and we 
always regarded it as an evil omen when we saw one or two of 
them heading up our valley. It is almost impossible to 
approach these poachers, as there is generally a sentinel perched 
on some tree by the river-side, while one or two others are 
working the adjoining pools. When fishing we would occasionally 
come upon a Cormorant so gorged with trout as to be unable to 
fly. One day we ran back for a gun to do execution on the 
caitiff, but just as we were approaching within range he uttered 
an unearthly cry, and vomiting his spoils, made off heavily 
on wing. Cormorants are often entangled and caught in fishing 
nets, and the birds of the year, with their white breasts, are con- 
sidered by the fishermen to belong to another species, and have 
been sent to us as great rarities. A Cormorant, a short time 
since, was picked up dead, near Tenby, with an oyster clinging 
to and closing its mandibles. The bird was stuffed with the 
oyster, and is now at Bath. 
We have received the following particulars of this strange 
occurrence from Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby :— 
CoRMORANT CAUGHT BY AN OYSTER. 
“On August 22nd, 1892, the sea being somewhat rough for 
that time of year, the man in charge of the bathing-machines on 
the North Sands, Tenby, saw some 300 to 4oo yards from shore, 
something dark which kept appearing and disappearing between 
