160 FACULTIES OF BIRDS. 



cum stances explain a disease to which that bird is 

 liable, and which is not uncommon to other birds ; this 

 is, having ascarides in the gizzard ; and these are con- 

 fined to those particular spots. The worms irritate 

 the membrane, and then feed upon the secretion 

 produced by such irritation. This is analogous to 

 the disease in sheep called the rot ; the flukes in the 

 biliary ducts which constitute that disease irritate 

 those ducts, and feed upon the bile which is secreted 

 in increased quantity, in consequence of the disturbed 

 state in which the ducts are constantly kept*. 



The cormorant is a great destroyer of fish, and so 

 keenly does it engage in the sport, that advantage 

 has been taken of the circumstance to train it for 

 fishing, in the manner hawks are trained for fowling, 

 a tight collar being put round the throat to prevent 

 the swallowing of the prey. A bird of this species, 

 kept by Colonel Montagu, was extremely docile, of a 

 grateful disposition, and by no means of a savage or 

 vindictive spirit. He received it by coach after it had 

 been four and twenty hours on the road ; yet though 

 it must have been hungry, it rejected every sort of 

 food he could offer to it, even raw flesh ; but as he 

 could not procure fish at the time, he was compelled 

 to cram it with raw flesh, which it swallowed with 

 evident reluctance, though it did not attempt to 

 strike him with its formidable beak. After seeing it 

 fed he withdrew to the library, but was surprised in 

 a few minutes to see the stranger walk boldly into 

 the room, and join him at the fireside with the utmost 

 familiarity, where it continued dressing its feathers 

 till it was removed to the aquatic menagerie. It 

 became restless and agitated at the sight of water, 

 and when set at liberty plunged and dived without 

 intermission for a considerable time, without capturing 

 or even discovering a single fish ; and apparently 

 * Sir E. Home, Comp. Anat. i. 282. 



