450 NATURAL HISTORY. 



When Steller, a Russian explorer, was wrecked on Bering Island in 

 1741. be found the l>ird now known as Pallas's cormorant very abundant 

 there. Indeed, it lived upon that island nearly a hundred years later. 

 To-day the chances are that there is not a single individual alive. It has 

 doubtless been exterminated at the hands of man. When speaking of the 

 great auk. reference was made to its rarity in collections; but the present 

 form is much more rare, for in all the museums of Europe there are but 

 three or four specimens, and not a single one in the United States. It was 

 a stupid bird, and furnished the natives with a large part of their meat 

 during the long winter months. 



On our eastern coast the common cormorant descends from the north 

 to the middle states in winter; but in the summer it retires again to 

 Labrador and the adjacent rocky islands, where on almost inaccessible 

 cliffs it builds its nest and rears its young. A cormorant is proverbial for 

 its voracity; it would seem sometimes as if it never could fill itself. 

 Indeed, the word cormorant has become a synonym for rapacity and 

 gluttony. 



The story has often been told, denied, and reaffirmed, that in China 

 cormorants are taught to fish for their masters. Now there remains not a 

 doubt upon the subject; for it has been fully authenticated, though not 

 with all the details which frequently surround it. They are trained in 

 much the same way that one breaks in a retriever. At first they have a 

 string tied to one leg, and are allowed to pick up fish thrown in, and are 

 then drawn to the shore by means of the string, a peculiar whistle-call 

 being made. Thus after a time they learn to come whenever the whistle 

 i- sounded. They are always rewarded by a portion of fish when they 

 let urn to the shore. When fully trained, the fisherman takes them with 

 him and. arrived at the spot, he points to the one which he wishes to 

 dive first. Those who bave witnessed the scene describe it as highly 

 entertaining. The chosen bird dives into the water, while the row 

 sitting on the edge of the boat preserve the utmost gravity. Soon the 

 diver reappears, perchance with a fish in its beak, and brings it to the 

 boat. If he should he unsuccessful, he dives again and again, and then 

 if he catches no fish, he is in disgrace and is made to sit all alone. 

 \ w all the other birds are in a perfect flutter of excitement, just as 

 though ea.h were teasing to be allowed to show his skill. The fisher- 

 man with Ins long bamboo designates another bird, who immediately 

 dives, while all the rest resume their customary gravity. To prevent 

 the birds swallowing the fish they catch, a ring is placed around the 

 link. After the fishing is over for the day. each bird is rewarded with 

 a quantity of food. 



