FEBRUARY 



CORMORANTS have been more in eHdef'caheretiy^ilQntlS th'an 

 usual. At present a flock of thirteen is to be seen diving in 

 the deep water surrounding the reef. Scorning the crusta- 

 ceans, molluscs, and other ground game of the eiders and long- 

 tails, these birds subsist entirely upon fish, in pursuit of which 

 they are extremely dexterous. The long sharp-pointed bill is 

 excellently adapted for securing their prey, the extremity of 

 the upper mandible curving over the lower in a sharp hook, 

 the efficiency of which I once saw forcibly demonstrated. 

 One of these birds, while flying high overhead, was winged by 

 a gunshot, and on striking the ground disgorged a recently 

 swallowed poddley, some ten inches long. A boy of the 

 party, having the temerity to thrust his foot towards the 

 bird, had the upper leather of his boot pierced and the foot 

 slightly wounded by the sharp hook -like process of the upper 

 mandible. During an exceedingly rigorous winter in Orkney 

 in '94, if I remember aright hundreds of these birds 

 perished from hunger. In a roofless hut, a few yards from 

 high-water mark, I counted fourteen dying and dead. Rats 

 were busy devouring the dead, while the living stumbled 

 weakly over the half -eaten bodies of their comrades. In the 

 most unlikely places they were to be met with, coming right 

 up to our doors as if begging for shelter. One of them 

 surprised me by waddling into the workshop, passing over my 

 boots as if unconscious of my presence, and settling under- 

 neath the bench to die. Any food we could offer them was 

 always rejected. One evening uiy attention was drawn to 

 our poultry, which, instead of being on their roost, stood 

 huddled about the entrance. Thinking the entrance had 

 been accidentally blocked from within, I entered by the door- 



