THE CORMORANT. 161 



pleasing recollections into the minds of those who 

 are fond of rural pursuits. 



The cormorants often pay me a visit in the winter 

 season; and, could they but perceive that there 

 is safety for them here, and great danger elsewhere, 

 they would remain with me while the water is 

 unfrozen. But they wander, unfortunately, through 

 parts where protection is not afforded them ; and, 

 being outlandish birds in the eyes of the neigh- 

 bouring gamekeepers, they are immediately shot at. 

 Those which find their way here are so unconscious 

 of danger, that, after they have spent a considerable 

 portion of time in diving for fish, they will come and 

 preen their feathers on the terrace which rises from 

 the water, within ten yards of the drawingroom 

 windows. 



The cormorant may be justly styled the feathered 

 terror of the finny tribe. His skill in diving is most 

 admirable, and his success beyond belief. You may 

 know him at a distance, among a thousand water- 

 fowl, by his upright neck, by his body being appa- 

 rently half immersed in the water, and by his being 

 perpetually in motion when not on land. While 

 the ducks and teal and wigeons are stationary on the 

 pool, the cormorant is seen swimming to and fro, 

 "as if in quest of something." First raising his 

 body nearly perpendicular, down he plunges into the 

 deep ; and after staying there a considerable time, 

 he is sure to bring up a fish, which he invariably 

 swallows head foremost. Sometimes half an hour 

 elapses before he can manage to accommodate a 

 large eel quietly in his stomach. You see him 



