THE CORMORANT. 161 
pleasing recollections into the minds of those who 
are fond of rural pursuits. 
The cormorants often pay me a visit in the winter 
season; and, could they but perceive that there 
is safety for them here, and great danger elsewhere, 
they would remain with me while the water is 
unfrozen. But they wander, unfortunately, through 
parts where protection is not afforded them ; and, 
being outlandish birds in the eyes of the neigh- 
bouring gamekeepers, they are immediately shot at. 
Those which find their way here are so unconscious 
of danger, that, after they have spent a considerable 
portion of time in diving for fish, they will come and 
preen their feathers on the terrace which rises from 
the water, within ten yards of the drawingroom 
windows. 
The cormorant may be justly styled the feathered 
terror of the finny tribe. His skill in diving is most 
admirable, and his success beyond belief. You may 
know him at a distance, among a thousand water- 
fowl, by his upright neck, by his body being appa- 
rently half immersed in the water, and by his being 
perpetually in motion when not on land. While 
the ducks and teal and wigeons are stationary on the 
pool, the cormorant is seen swimming to and fro, 
“as if in quest of something.” First raising his 
body nearly perpendicular, down he plunges into the 
deep ; and after staying there a considerable time, 
he is sure to bring up a fish, which he invariably 
swallows head foremost. Sometimes half an hour 
elapses before he can manage to accommodate a 
large eel quietly in his stomach. You see him 
M 
