408 The Outline of Science 



He clasps the crag with crooked hands; 



Close to the sun in lonely lands, 



Ring'd -with the azure world, he stands. 



The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; 

 He watches from his mountain walls, 

 And like a thunderbolt he falls. 



The Golden Eagle looks well after its young, feeding them 

 at dawn and dusk each day. "The Grouse that are brought to 

 the eaglet are plucked and headless; the Hares and Rabbits are 

 skinned and made ready in a larder distant from the nest; the 

 youngsters get only digestible food, being unable for some weeks 

 to form pellets." The eaglets are taught how to hunt and how 

 to kill, as well as how to carry and skin their prey. When they are 

 about five months old they are driven away. 



The Fishing of the Cormorant 



Very different from the habits of these birds of prey is the 

 under-water hunting of the Cormorant, a bird of much less noble 

 habits and aspect, which is notable for clumsiness in the air, and 

 for uncouth appearance on land, as well as for the foul stenches 

 of its untidy nest! Under the water, however, it is a thing of 

 beauty, so perfectly adapted is it to the swift and dexterous pur- 

 suit of its active prey. In a tank with glass sides we may see this 

 to great advantage, and note how the wings are kept close to the 

 body not used for swimming as in the case of penguins and auks 

 and how the air-bubbles cling to the feathers like bright jewels 

 or polished silver. We can see, too, how the strong hooked beak 

 is used to seize the fish, which is then borne to the surface to be 

 tossed in the air, recaught, and swallowed, for the Cormorant does 

 not swallow under water like a penguin. The Chinese train cor- 

 morants to catch fish for the market, a collar round the neck 

 preventing the birds from swallowing their prizes; the same 

 thing was done in Britain at one time, although only for 

 sport. 



