-popular 3trtian<irn at &ntmatctt fixture. 151 



Mr. Waterton, whose pleasing descriptions ' 

 are seldom deficient either in bold originality 

 or graphic power. Walton Hall, the seat of 

 this gentleman, has long been a perfect asy- ; 

 him for such of the feathered tribes as have i 

 the good fortune to make it their permanent | 

 abode ; and he may therefore well say, while | 

 pleading their cause [see the Preface to his I 

 Essays'] : " I possess the very best oppor- j 

 tunities of observing the birds whose habits ! 

 I have described." "The Cormorants," he | 

 observes, " often pay me a visit in the winter I 

 season ; and could they but perceive that ' 

 there is safety for them here, and great i 

 danger elsewhere, they would remain with ] 

 me while the water is unfrozen. But they j 

 wander, unfortunately, through parts where 

 protection is not afforded them ; and, being j 

 outlandish birds in the eyes of the neighbour- j 

 ing game-keepers, 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 fea- 

 thers on the terrace which rises from the 

 water, within, ten yards of the drawing-room 

 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 ap- | 

 parently half immersed in the water, and 

 by his being perpetually in motion when 

 not on land. While the ducks and teal and > 

 widgeons are stationary on the pool, the Cor- 

 morant 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 con- ; 

 siderable 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 strain- j 

 ing violently, with repeated efforts to gulp 

 it ; and when you fancy that the slippery 

 mouthful is successfully disposed of, all on 

 a sudden the eel retrogrades upwards from 

 its dismal sepulchre, struggling violently to 

 escape. The Cormorant swallows it again ; 

 and up again it comes and shows its tail a 

 foot or more out of its destroyer's mouth. 

 At length, worn out with ineffectual writh- 

 ings, and slidings, the eel is gulped down 

 into the Cormorant's stomach for the last i 

 time, there to meet its dreaded and inevita- | 

 ble fate. This gormandizing exhibition was i 

 witnessed here by several individuals, both 

 ladies and gentlemen, on Nov. 26. 1832, 

 through an excellent eight and twenty 

 guinea telescope j the Cormorant being, at 

 that time, not more than a hundred yards 

 distant from the observers. I was of the 

 party." [For other species, such as the Chi- 

 nese Fishing Cormorant and the Australian 

 Cormorant, see PHALACEOCOKAJC.] 



CORVTDvE. The Crow tribe ; a family 

 of birds which belong to the Conirostres. 

 The Corvidce are very widely diffused over 

 the globe ; the general characters are con- 



sequently well known. They have a strong 

 bill, compressed at the sides, and covered at 

 the base with stiff feathers, which advance 

 forwards so as to cover the nostrils : the bill 

 is capable of laying hold of almost any kind 

 of food, and the stomach of digesting it. The 

 form of their foot adapts them to traverse 

 the fields and pastures with facility, in search 

 of fiood ; whilst they can also perch with sc- 

 cunty on trees, the tarsi and toes being 

 moderately long and stout, and the claws 

 arched and acute. Their wings are of that 

 form which ensures a powerful and regular 

 flight ; steady without being heavy, and 

 buoyant without wavering ; for they are 

 broad and moderately long, and usually 

 rounded at their extremities. The tail, 

 which is chiefly used as a rudder to direct 

 the course of the bird in rapid flight, is short 

 in the species that seek their food entirely 

 on the ground, and long in those which re- 

 side chiefly in trees and bushes. Their sight 

 is keen and distant ; they often show great 

 sagacity in their natural actions ; they pos- 

 sess much docility ; and their courage and 

 activity are only equalled by their caution 

 and vigilance. In most of the species in- 

 habiting temperate climates their plumage 

 is rather sombre ; but though dark in hue, 

 it is lustrous ; while many species in tropical 

 climates exhibit considerable brilliancy and 

 variety in their colouring. [See CHOW'S.] 



COSSUS. A genus of nocturnal Lepidop- 

 tera, the larvte of which feed on wood. 

 There are several species found in other 

 climates ; but we restrict our notice to the 

 British species. 



COSSUS LIGNIPERDA, or GOAT 

 MOTH. This is one of the largest European 

 Moths, being nearly three inches in the ex- 

 pansion of its fore-wings, the colour of which 

 is ashy white, clouded with brown, and 

 marked with an infinite number of short, 

 black, irregular streaks, forming a kind of 

 network : the hind wings are brown, with 

 darker reticulations extending along the 

 margins. The thorax is ochre-coloured in 

 front, pale in the middle, and with a black 

 bar behind : abdomen brown, with the mar- 

 gins of the segments pale yellowish grey. 



The Caterpillar, which is nearly as large as 

 a man's finger, is of a dull fleshy hue, with 

 dark chestnut scales on the back of each 

 segment, and a few scattered hairs. It chiefly 

 feeds upon willows and poplars, but will 

 attack various other trees, boring into the 



