THE LITTLE BLACK SHAG 311 



their position, leaning slightly to right or left alternately. 

 Brushing the top of the last spur, the,y descended to within a few 

 inches of the surface of the sea, whence, bending upwards in a 

 graceful curve, they landed on their nests with but a single flap 

 of their wings. I have seen, and shot, a cock pheasant floating 

 down a gully; but I never felt lil<e beginning to get anywhere 

 near one of these lilack shags. A crossing shot conveyed no hope 

 of getting within a chain of its object, and if you trained the 

 gun upon a black speck in the distance, proposing to let go at an 

 incoming bird, the swerves I have mentioned hopelessly bank- 

 rupted all chance of success. And we all wanted to kill one, for 

 its fall ^^'Ould have been worth seeing. 



' ' The noise occasioned by the rushing of their pinions in their 

 swerving flight was considerable, and whenever I heard the 

 roaring sound which heralded their approach, I could not keep 

 recalling : ' And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of 

 a rushing mighty wind.' " 



The Pied Shag. — Kawau. 

 Pit alacrocorax varius. 

 Above, greenish black; brown on the back. Below, white; the thighs 

 with a greenish black patch. Skin on the side of the face, light blue. A 

 spot in front of the eye, bright yellow. Legs and feet, black. Eye, sea- 

 ^reen. Length of the wing, 1L75 ; of the tarsus, .5.5 in. The young birds 

 are brown above; and white mottled with brown below. Eggs — Pale blue; 

 length, 2.4 in. New Zealand only. 



The pied shag is the conniion coast shag of the North Island, 

 but it is not so common in the south. It is, however, b.y no means 

 confined to the coast, as it may be found far away in the interior. 

 Like the black shag, it builds in various localities, and lays from 

 two to four eggs. It is not so gregarious as most of the shags, and 

 -a single bird may often be seen sitting on a jutting-out rock, or on 

 a branch of a tree overhanging the water. 



The Little Black Shag. 

 Phalacrocorax sulcirostris. 

 Brownish black, with a dull oil-green gloss. The upper back and wing 

 •coverts, grey; each feather with a black border. In the breeding season 



