^5 Stead, The Black Cormorant in New Zealand. ["ist^'oct 



then to give its staccato call — "Pit-pit;" the Fantail performing 

 all manner of aerial evolutions over the surface of the water 

 while procuring its insect lunch ; the long-legged Stilt trying by 

 means of very realistic acting to lure us away from its nest or its 

 young ones, secreted among the stones at the water's edge ; the 

 Duck, embodiment of maternal anxiety, leading her brood 

 across some dark, willow-fringed pool — surely these things 

 cannot fail to attract the attention and help to make for the 

 day's pleasure. And even the old Shag, though perhaps 

 possessed of no great ethereal beauty, is yet a very interesting 

 feature of the landscape as he sits on some log or bough, with 

 wings outspread, drying in the sun, or arises from the water at 

 our approach with his body inclined at an angle, his whole 

 appearance being much that of some fantastic creation on a 

 Japanese screen. And year by year our bird life is decreasing 

 — decreasing so rapidly, indeed, that before long much of it will 

 have entirely disappeared, so that it behoves us to protect what 

 of it we can while we may. 



Observations on the Cormorants along the Coast and 



in the Inland Waters of Victoria. 



By C. F. Cole. 



Part I. — Inland Waters. 



Some 12 years ago, while living in the north-east of this State, 

 I had the opportunity of studying the habits of two species of 

 Cormorants — viz., the Little Cormorant {PJialacrocorax melano- 

 leucus, Vieill.) and Little Black Cormorant (/*. sulcirostris, 

 Brandt) ; also a most important thing now under discussion 

 amongst naturalists and others — their diet. I, like most people, 

 always thought that these birds lived solely upon a fish diet ; 

 but of this later on. These birds, when fishing, have to rely 

 solely upon judgment and sight. For instance, if the fish are at 

 a depth beyond what the impetus of the downward flight or dive 

 makes these birds capable of diving to, they certainly escape 

 them. Being heavy birds, they are adapted for this both in 

 build and feather. Closely watching these birds while fishing, 

 I always found that they seem to take the fish unawares, or else 

 they wait for a shoal to come along, and then, diving in 

 amongst them, nearly always succeed in catching one. If 

 successful they rise to the surface immediately, but if not they 

 swim some distance under water, most likely following their 

 quarry, which nearly always escapes. Why ? Because fish can 

 swim faster than a Cormorant. I have seen one of these birds 

 rise to the surface holding a fish close to the tail, and, owing to 

 the fins, unable to swallow it ; so, tossing the fish up into the 



