190 



BIRD GALLERY. 



No. 143. SHAG or GREEN CORMORANT. 



(Phalacrocorax graculus.) 



This species is also known as the Crested Cormorant, on account of 

 the curved tuft-like crest which is assumed in the early spring and 

 shed in May. Though essentially marine and common along all 

 the more rugged coasts of the British Islands, it occasionally wanders 

 inland to freshwater lochs. It is an expert diver, and feeds principally 

 on sea-fishes. The nest, formed of seaweed and other materials 

 plastered together and emitting a horrible smell, is generally placed 

 on a ledge of a cliff, and from three to five oblong eggs, with a pale 

 blue undershell thickly encrusted with chalky white, are laid in May 

 or sometimes earlier. The manner in which the young are fed is 

 very remarkable. The parent bird having filled its gullet with fish, 

 returns to its nest and, bending over the young, opens its bill to the 

 fullest extent. The young, in turn, thrust the head and neck down 

 the old bird's throat and extract the partly digested food till the pouch 

 is empty. 



South Wales, June. 



Presented by Lord Kensington. 



No. 144. SHOVELER. (Spatula clypeata.) 



Though chiefly a winter visitor to the British Islands, a good manv 

 pairs remain to breed on some of the inland lakes and marshes, and the 

 number of breeding-birds is yearly increasing. Asa rule, this species 

 frequents fresh water, feeding on mollusca, worms, and aquatic insects, 

 as well as on grass and water-plants, and its flesh is much esteemed as 

 food. The deep nest of fine grass, lined with down, is generally placed 

 in long grass or heather, and the eggs, when numerous, lie in two 

 layers. They are of a pale greenish-buff colour, and vary in number 

 from eight to fourteen. 



Norfolk, May. 



Presented by Lord Walsingham. 



No. 145. TUFTED DUCK. (Fuligula cristata.) 



Between autumn and spring this species is common about the coasts, 

 estuaries and lakes of the British Islands, and is often found in company 

 with flocks of other diving-ducks. It breeds in considerable numbers 

 on many of the lakes and ponds throughout the kingdom, but is most 

 numerous in Scotland. It feeds on aquatic plants and various animal- 



