CORMORANT— CORNCRAIK 253 



a spot. " Bump " is said to be like the sound the young utter, 

 being the cry or "eronan-nan-sgarbh." 



This bird is not good eating, unless white-feathered more or 

 less. Creag-an-sgairbh, or Failte mhic Iain Stuibhart, Stewart 

 of Appin's salute — a very old pibroch — their war-cry, i.e., Castle 

 Stalker (Stalcaire), castle of the falconer. The cormorant passes 

 through three stages of existence : in the first year it is called 

 a scart, for seven years a speckled hen, and for seven more at 

 least a cormorant, or scarbh learg and ballaire-bodhain. It is a 

 greedy glutton and is referred to frequently in many works, but 

 never favourably, from the Holy Scriptures, Milton, etc., onward. 

 As above mentioned, the white-feathered are edible ; even in soup 

 the flesh is available, but it must be buried in the earth for three 

 days at least. The shag or green cormorant is among the most 

 wary of the species, while the fat of all in the young enable them 

 to be burnt, with a wick drawn though their bodies, like a candle, 

 though the flavour is somewhat trying in a small, close room. An 

 English saying is, " As wet as a shag." The very name of the 

 bird exemplifies greed ; and the exactions of a '^ Tigherna mor," 

 or his factor's in his name, have frequently been compared to one. 



Names of places are: — "Scarba," which means scarf (or scart) 

 ey or island — Cormorant isle ; Sgeir nan sgarbh, or skart skerry, is 

 just two Norse words put together — Celtic fashion. In County 

 Sligo, Ireland, an island in a loch there is called " Sgairbh innsi an 

 fhraoich," the cormorant of the heather island. Irish writers trans- 

 late the word " sgairbh " as " scarriff," which signifies a shallow ford. 



A "monster " slain by St Gilbert at Dornoch was transformed 

 into a cormorant. 



Trod nam ban mu'n sgarbh, 's an sgarbh a muigh air an loch. 

 The scolding of the wives about the scart, and the scart out 

 on the loch. Female folly — unreasoning. 

 Biodh gach fear a toirt sgairbh a creagan dha fhein. 



Let every one take scarts out of rocks for himself. (See 

 note by Nicolson.) Scarts are not sought for in rocks. 



CORNCRAIK (see also Rail). 



Cearrsach ; Dreaun ; Ean or eun-rap ; Garra-gart or gartan, 

 garra-gort ; Traghna, traineach, traon, traona, treanaire, treona, 

 treubhna, treun, treun-ri-treun, trian-ri-trian, troghna, troghnadh. 



Bean-cracker or crake, ben-crake ; Corn-crek, corn-drake, 

 cornscrack, cornscraich, crack, cracker, craker ; Daker, daker-hen, 

 dawker, draken, draker, draker-hen; Gallwell-drake (Gallinule ?), 

 gorse-duck-, grass-drake ; Landhen, landrail ; Meadow-drake ; 

 Night-crow, nyght-crake (A. S.). 



A comical and absurd belief existed that when uttering its 

 notes the corn-crake does so lying on its back, otherwise the 

 heavens would fall. This may have arisen from the fact that it 



