The Cormorants of Great Lake 



125 



fish, and the young birds, excited at our approach, showered upon us and 

 our boat generous quantities of half-digested fish. 



Many of the young were old enough to leave their nests and clamber 

 awkwardly along the limbs. Although apparently much annoyed at first by 

 our presence, the young soon became accustomed to the unusual appear- 

 ance in the tree, and many of them eagerly sought to swallow the fingers 

 of my extended hand. 



Alligators gather about the colony, probably to feed, in part, upon the 



YOUNG CORMORANTS 



fragments of food which fall from the nests above. Six were counted at 

 one time within easy rifle range of the boat. One of the young, while 

 climbing along a slender limb, lost its balance and fell with a splash into the 

 water. It immediately dived, and, coming to the surface about twenty feet 

 away, began swimming up the lake with long and rapid strokes. By the 

 time I had descended to the boat with my cameras, the bird was fully fifty 

 yards away. To our horror, a large alligator had given chase, and was 

 rapidly approaching the swimm^. We immediately started in pursuit, and, 

 after an exciting chase, rescued the young Cormorant; but not until the alli- 

 gator had made two unsuccessful snaps at his intended victim, which 

 escaped only by diving with marvelous quickness just at the proper instant. 

 Six years ago one hundred and fifty pairs of birds were breeding here. 

 For some reason the colony has decreased in the number of mated birds. 



