Birds by Land and Sea 



upset their gravity gravity as in every sense of the 

 word it is when the cormorants are arriving 

 home, charged to the bill with fish. The gulls pro- 

 bably have a shrewd suspicion that the fish which the 

 cormorant brings home is not necessarily done with 

 even after having been once swallowed. The young 

 cormorants have a more intimate knowledge of such 

 matters. To them the respectable old lady perching 

 at the side of their big seaweed nest is a sort of 

 animated feeding-bag ; and so two or three of the 

 little brown-bodied creatures prod her throat with 

 their bills, keeping up a gentle sing-song in their 

 own the while, which is very pleasant and soothing 

 to listen to. One marvels at the naughty persistency 

 of these little creatures only less than at the long- 

 suffering patience of their parent. At last, however, 

 even this monumental virtue appears to give way. 

 Her long neck writhes about, she seizes the most 

 importunate of the young ones by the head, shakes 

 him vigorously, and to all appearances swallows his 

 head for the time being. When all the wriggling 

 and thrusting is over, the young one withdraws his 

 head from her gullet, satisfied, no doubt, for the 

 time being, with the portion he has been able to 

 recover of his mother's last meal. The gulls are 

 right ; the fish a cormorant brings home is not 

 necessarily done with until it has been twice 

 swallowed. 



While I was sitting one quiet sunny afternoon 

 watching the cormorants, a sudden commotion at the 



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