DIVERS, GREBES, AND CORMORANTS. 177 
When disturbed the sitting Cormorants make little 
demonstration, but fly out to sea at once. But 
one brood is reared in the season, and the eggs 
are deposited during April or May, in the British 
Islands. The Cormorant is a silent bird: the only 
note I have ever heard it utter has been a croaking 
one at the nest. 
SHAG. 
This species, the Pelecanus graculus of Linnzeus 
and Latham, and the Phalacrocorax graculus of 
most modern writers, is readily distinguished from 
the Cormorant by its smaller size, more glossy 
appearance, and much greener general colouration. 
The Shag differs structurally from the Cormorant 
in possessing only twelve tail feathers, the latter 
bird having fourteen. The nuptial ornaments are 
also very different, for just previous to the pairing 
season, in early spring, a nodding plume or frontal 
crest of recurved feathers is assumed. The Shag 
is a much more marine bird than the Cormorant, 
and its appearance inland is exceptional. Of the 
two species the Shag is certainly the commonest 
and most widely dispersed, being met with off 
almost all parts of the British coasts, but prefer- 
ence is shown for such as are rocky, and where 
the ranges of cliffs are full of hollows and caves. 
Outside our islands the range of the Shag is 
restricted to the coasts of western Europe, and the 
Mediterranean basin. As a rule the Shag keeps 
well into the coast, seeking for its food in the 
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