206 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



reconciled to this, because nearly all good things 

 have their drawbacks especially cormorants. 



These birds may be trained to catch fish, and since 

 the time of the Stuarts this has been a favourite 

 form of sport with some people in this country. In 

 China large numbers are used for this purpose. The 

 young, when fed, have been seen almost to climb 

 into their parents' crops to take their supply of food. 

 Any sudden excitement causes the sitting birds to 

 eject fish which they may have recently swallowed. 

 In the case of one bird 1 noticed it opened its 

 enormous beak, then, with a kind of gulp, brought 

 up a good-sized fish, which fell by the side of the 

 nest. 



The eggs, which are from two to five in number, 

 have a pale blue ground colour, crusted over with a 

 white chalky substance. When they have been sat 

 on for some days they become stained a very dark 

 brown, with dirt from the sitting bird, and then much 

 resemble the colour of the nest. Cormorants will 

 sometimes breed inland ; they have been known to 

 nest in company with herons in trees, while in 

 Holland they choose the swampy meres, building 

 their nests with grass, reeds, and other coarse water- 

 plants. 



On leaving the cormorants we went back to Fame 

 Island, where we stayed for two days and nights, 

 living among the birds. It was with never-tiring 



