258 THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



share, when down swooped a skua from aloft, right on to the heap of 

 gulls, seized the fish, and swallowed it at once. 



" The shag (cormorant) ought to learn to swallow under water, and 

 the gull to devour its prey at once in the air. The skua is merely a 

 gull which has developed itself by fighting for morsels." 



On the Pacific coast are two well-marked species 

 of cormorant, known respectively as the " Violet 

 Green" and " Brandt's." 



J. K. Townsend, in his " Narrative of a Journey 

 across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River" 

 (1839), sa y s f tne "Violet Green" species, 



" This most splendid of all the species of cormorants yet discov- 

 ered inhabit^ in considerable numbers the rocky cape at the en- 

 trance of the Columbia River, upon the sides of which it often rests, 

 and no doubt rears its young within the natural cavities which front 

 the tempestucus ocean, and in situations wholly inaccessible to man. 

 Sometimes many weeks elapse in which not a single cormorant is 

 seen, when suddenly a flock of fifty or sixty is observed to enter the 

 bay, every individual of which immediately commences an assiduous 

 search for the small fish and mollusca which constitute its food. It 

 never ascends the river, but keeping almost constantly around the 

 cape, under shelter of the enormous breakers which are incessantly 

 dashing against it, successfully defies all attempts to shoot it. ... 



" The Indians of the Northwest coast make cloaks of the skins of 

 this bird, sewed together. It is probably even more numerous to the 

 north of Cape Disappointment, and must necessarily frequent less 

 inaccessible places." 



Of Brandt's Cormorant the same author states, 



" This species inhabits the Columbia River, and is not uncommon. 

 It is seldom seen near the sea, but is mostly observed high up upon 

 the river. It is, like most species of its genus, partially gregarious, 

 and is fond of resting in company. The old trees which are 

 fastened in the bottom of the river, and protrude above the surface, 

 and the isolated rocks in the stream, are its favorite places of resort. 

 Here it sits, sometimes for hours together, indolently gazing into the 

 water, and only leaving its perch to seize an unsuspecting fish which 



