152 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



over the world, unlike divers, which are only 

 seen north of the tropics, they are not really 

 so common or so widespread as another great 

 family of diving birds, the cormorants, which 

 one can really call the leading family of diving 

 birds ; there are so many of them, and they 

 live and nest in such different places, but 

 always in colonies. There is something crow- 

 like about cormorants, as their plumage is 

 generally dark, and they have a longer tail 

 than most water-birds, more like a land- 

 bird's ; and indeed their very name is from 

 the Latin corvus marinus sea -crow, and 

 names like this are given to them in several 

 languages. Besides, like crows, they are perch- 

 ing birds and build great nests of sticks, often 

 on trees as well as rocks, and have helpless 

 young ones, though these are only naked 

 at first, and soon get a thick coat of down. 

 But, of course, they are not really related to 

 crows. The reason why they are so much 

 more at home in trees than other water-birds 

 is because their foot is suited for grasping as 

 well as swimming, with a large hind-toe 

 webbed to the front ones ; thus it is good for 

 gripping, and at the same time makes a very 



