Along the Rock-bound Coast 



black, and we can mark their long, straight, power- 

 ful bills and buff heads, ere they get too far out to 

 sea. What a sight it is to see them fishing ! 

 They sail quietly along, hovering maybe over a 

 shoal of mackerel, at a considerable height, watch- 

 ing for a victim to come near the surface, when 

 they plunge into the sea like an arrow, not even 

 troubling to close their wings. Small chance for 

 any fish that encounters the terrific thrust of their 

 bills ! 



Equally interesting and certainly no less suc- 

 cessful a fisher is the Cormorant. Off the coast 

 of Northumberland in winter I have seen one or 

 two employing the same tactics as the Gannet, but 

 generally he dives for his prey, staying under 

 water for the greater part of a minute and re- 

 appearing as fresh as ever, perhaps holding a fish 

 in his hooked beak and giving it a toss in the air 

 preparatory to swallowing it head foremost. 



A colony of these somewhat ungainly black 

 birds are nesting not far from the Gannets and 

 make a striking contrast. Some are still sitting on 

 their eggs, three in number, which are so coated 

 with lime that we should scarcely dream that the 

 colour underneath is a beautiful pale green. Others 

 are feeding their young, and some, sitting bolt up- 

 right, with wings outstretched and quivering, are 

 endeavouring to digest a heavy repast. 



The young ones in the various nests are in 

 every stage of development : some just hatched, 

 117 



