DIVERS, GREBES, AND CORMORANTS. 177 



When disturbed the sitting Cormorants make little 

 demonstration, but fly out to sea at once. But 

 one brood is reared in the season, and the eggs 

 are deposited during April or May, in the British 

 Islands. The Cormorant is a silent bird : the only 

 note I have ever heard it utter has been a croaking 

 one at the nest. 



SHAG. 



This species, the Pelecanus graculus of Linnaeus 

 and Latham, and the Phalacrocorax graculus of 

 most modern writers, is readily distinguished from 

 the Cormorant by its smaller size, more glossy 

 appearance, and much greener general colouration. 

 The Shag differs structurally from the Cormorant 

 in possessing only twelve tail feathers, the latter 

 bird having fourteen. The nuptial ornaments are 

 also very different, for just previous to the pairing 

 season, in early spring, a nodding plume or frontal 

 crest of recurved feathers is assumed. The Shag 

 is a much more marine bird than the Cormorant, 

 and its appearance inland is exceptional. Of the 

 two species the Shag is certainly the commonest 

 and most widely dispersed, being met with off 

 almost all parts of the British coasts, but prefer- 

 ence is shown for such as are rocky, and where 

 the ranges of cliffs are full of hollows and caves. 

 Outside our islands the range of the Shag is 

 restricted to the coasts of western Europe, and the 

 Mediterranean basin. As a rule the Shag keeps 

 well into the coast, seeking for its food in the 



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