BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 397 



wings to propel and their tails to steer them, as in the air. But 

 their safety is provided for, without exertion on their part, 

 since their flesh is so poor, tough and fishy that, Audubon 

 says, not even epicures can eat them. 



The Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax dilophus, 

 which was first described by Richardson, and has been con- 

 sidered extremely rare, has been obtained by Dr. Brewer, in 

 the vicinity of Boston. They are found breeding on low 

 islands at Labrador, in great numbers, arriving as soon as the 

 ice is dissolved from the water in the spring. They spend the 

 winter on the coast of the eastern states. At that season, not 

 many are seen farther east than the Bay of Halifax. No fish 

 comes amiss to their insatiable appetites ; of codlings particu- 

 larly, they destroy immense numbers. They differ from the 

 Florida cormorant, described by Audubon, chiefly in their 

 superior size, and having more of the long feathers behind the 

 eye. 



The Shag, Phalacrocorax graculus, is found in most parts of 

 the United States as far south as Florida, where they breed in 

 large associations. They appear to make the bays and islands 

 of the St. Lawrence their northern bounds. In the high north- 

 ern regions they have not yet been encountered. They live 

 perpetually near the sea, never wandering inland like the com- 

 mon cormorant, which has been seen on the Missouri river. 

 They are expert divers, and collect great quantities of fish. 

 Near the mouth of Boston harbor, they are found in thick and 

 numerous flocks, at the approach of winter. 



The Gannet, Sula bassana, a bird known on both sides of 

 the Atlantic, is added to this list on the authority of Dr. Brewer, 

 who has obtained a specimen. In the summer, they are seen 

 in vast numbers in the bay of St. Lawrence, where the Gan- 

 net Rock, as it is called, a large rocky island, is entirely 

 whitened with the plumage of the females on their nests, while 

 the crowds hovering over and around it, appear like a driving 



