448 NATAT. PHALACROCORAX. CORMORANT. 



on living matter. In Britain, where it is numerous and 

 widely dispersed, the Cormorant breeds upon rocky shores 

 and islands, selecting the summits of the rocks for the situa- 

 tion of the nest, and not (like the Green Cormorant) the 

 clefts or ledges. In some countries it breeds upon trees, pos- 

 sessing, as I have before observed, the power of grasping 

 Nest, &c. f lrm ly w ith its feet. Upon the Fern Islands, its nest is com- 

 posed entirely of a mass of sea-weed, frequently heaped up 

 to the height of two feet, in which are deposited from three 

 to five eggs, of a pale bluish-white, with a rough surface, 

 from the unequal deposition of the calcareous matter. The 

 young, when first hatched, are quite naked and very ugly, 

 the skin being of a purplish-black ; this in six or seven days 

 becomes clothed with a thick black down, but the feathered 

 plumage is not perfected in less than five or six weeks. In- 

 stinct, that powerful substitute for reason, is nowhere more 

 beautifully exemplified than in the young of this bird ; for 

 I have repeatedly found, that, upon being thrown into the 

 sea, even when scarcely half-fledged, they immediately plunge 

 beneath the surface, and endeavour to escape by diving. 

 This they will do to a great distance, using their imperfect 

 wings, and pursuing their submarine flight in the same man- 

 ner, and with almost as much effect, as their parents. When 

 unfledged in the nest, the young of this and the following 

 species, if alarmed by an approach, raise the head and neck 

 to the full stretch, at the same time gaping wide, and vibrat- 

 ing in a curious manner the loose skin of the neck and throat, 

 accompanied by a constant and querulous cry. In winter, 

 Cormorants are frequently seen in our rivers and lakes at a 

 considerable distance from the sea, where they occasionally 

 perch and roost in such trees as grow upon the immediate 

 Food, banks. They feed entirely on fish, which they obtain by ac- 

 tive pursuit beneath the surface of the water, and having the 

 gullet very large and dilatable, they are enabled to swallow 

 those of considerable size. The prey is killed by being squeez- 

 ed in their powerful and hooked bill, and always swallowed 



