VOL. vm.] CORMORANTS IN NORFOLK. 137 



birds had an individuality of their own. No. 1, being 

 the eldest and strongest, swaggered considerably and 

 lorded it over the rest ; No. 4, being the last in the nest 

 and somewhat less adventurous than the others, played 

 solitary games. They all loved a tug-of-war with bits 

 of stick : two or three, and sometimes all four, took part 

 in this. Their individual diversion was to pull off 



Fig. 7. WATCHING THE WORLD IN GENERAL, JULY 31st, 

 {Photographed by Miss E. L. Turner.) 



leaves, drop them outside the nest and then lean out 

 to watch them flutter out of sight. Sometimes two 

 interlocked their beaks and engaged in a mild sham 

 fight. They never quarrelled, and their mutual con- 

 versation sounded quite amicable, if raucous. On 

 July 27th the two older birds stood on the edge of the 

 nest flapping their wings vigorously and rapidly for 

 ten minutes at a stretch, so that I was not surprised to 

 hear three days later that they had flown. I was told 

 that there were " six birds on the wing," but the two 

 younger birds were as yet quite unable to fly. 



