AMONG THE WATER-FOWL 



squealing and biting at one another with every 

 possible exhibition of passion. If the liver is car- 

 ried under by the tide, several birds at once dive 

 after it, and, emerging amid the excited crowd, will 

 bear up on their backs others that happen to be 

 over them, as is shown in the illustration. While 

 resting on the water, they often extend their wings, 

 perhaps in readiness to flutter and paddle after the 

 food they are expecting to be thrown out. It is 

 rather hard work for them to start in flight, unless 

 there is a good breeze, and they have to run patter- 

 ing with their feet over the water for some distance 

 before they are fully awing. 



The fishermen had told me that the Haglets are 

 readily caught with hook and line, and I now tried 

 the experiment. Baiting a small hook on a light 

 line, I tossed it over. A Shearwater immediately 

 pounced down, dove after the sinking hook, and 

 cleverly bit off the bait. I tried again with a 

 larger piece, but jerked it out of the bird's mouth. 

 Next time I waited until the thing was half swal- 

 lowed, and then slowly drew the line taut. The 

 hook caught in the bill, and, despite frantic flapping 

 and bracing the feet against the water, I drew the 

 victim, a Greater Shearwater, into the boat. No 

 sooner was the line slacked than the hook dropped 

 out, having held only slightly in the horny part of 

 the mouth, not injuring the bird in the least. 



Finding that the bird could not rise from a 

 hard surface, I gave it the freedom of the deck. It 

 ran into a corner, and squealed and bit when I 

 attempted to handle it. It was awkward in gait, 

 and now and then would fall down, evidently being 



112 



