THE CORMORANT. 137 



being the one furthest from shore. Until recently 

 there was a lighthouse on the Calf Rock, but a 

 terrific gale in the autumn of 1881, after first carry- 

 ing away the lantern, broke the lighthouse in half. 

 The men in charge, after ten days of terrible suffering 

 from wet, cold, and hunger, and after many attempts 

 to rescue them had been made, were eventually 

 brought off safely by the gallant efforts of a local 

 pilot O'Shea. 



THE COMMON CORMORANT (Graculus carbd) is 

 resident in Ireland, and common on most parts of 

 the coast. THE SHAG, Green Cormorant, or Crested 

 Cormorant, as it is variously styled (Graculus cris- 

 tatus\ is also resident, inhabiting all parts of the 

 coast ; but generally less numerous than the common 

 species, as it is never seen inland. Cormorants nest 

 a long way from the sea in several parts of Ire- 

 land. On the Blackwater River, co. Cork, for in- 

 stance, they breed every year in the cliffs over the 

 stream here and there below Mallow, at least thirty 

 miles from the tide. 



The nostrils of the Cormorant are very peculiar. 

 Dr. J. C. Ewart, having had his attention directed 

 to the fact that Cormorants during a long flight, and 

 for some time after roosting, hold their heads agape 

 as if panting, presumably due to a remarkable 

 condition of the nostril, undertook an anatomical 

 investigation of the latter point with the following 

 results, which he published in the Journal of the 

 Linnean Society (1881, Zoology, p. 455): " The 

 external nostril in the Cormorant is a mere slit, 

 situated at the end of a shallow superficial groove, 

 which runs backwards along the beak parallel with 



