FLORIDA CORMORANT. 391 



stinctive knowledge of the fishes, and thought how curious it was that, as 

 soon as they had observed the Cormorants'" hole, none had gone farther, 

 as if they wefe weU aware of the danger, but preferred meeting me as I 

 advanced towards the birds. I emerged from the water almost exhausted 

 with heat, my eyes aching from the perspiration ; but the refreshing sea- 

 breeze now reached me, and cooled my feverish frame. Thankful, Reader, 

 did I then feel, and thankful do I feel now, having survived so many en- 

 counters of this kind. 



The nest of the Florida Cormorant is of rather a small size, being only 

 eight or nine inches in diameter. It is formed of sticks crossing each other, 

 and is flat, without any appearance of finishing. All the nests are placed 

 on a Western exposure, and are usually completely covered with excre- 

 ment, as are also frequently the eggs, which are three or four, and diffSer 

 in size, their average length, however, being two inches and a quarter, 

 their greatest breadth one inch and three and a half eighths. They 

 are rendered rather rough by the coating of calcareous matter which 

 surrounds them ; but when this is removed, the real shell is found to be 

 of a uniform fine light bluish-green tint. I was unable to ascertain the 

 jjeriod of incubation. The young are at first blind, naked, black, and 

 extremely uncouth. On placing some which were quite small on the wa- 

 ter, they instantly dived, rose again, and swam about at random, diving 

 on the least noise. If you approach them when about a month old, they 

 throw themselves from the nest and plunge into the water. When un- 

 disturbed, they remain in the nest until they are fully fledged and able 

 to fly, after which they undergo various changes, and are not pei'fect until 

 nearly two years old. 



Soon after they are left to shift for themselves, great numbers go to 

 search for food in the quiet waters of inland streams. Thousands may 

 now be seen on the lakes of the interior of the Floridas, and on the large 

 rivers there. At this season many proceed as far as the Capes of North 

 Cai'olina, the Mississippi, the Arkansas, the Yazoo, and other streams, 

 including the fair Ohio, on which they are at times seen early in Octobei", 

 when they begin to return to the places of their nativity. During seve- 

 ral weeks which I spent on the St John s River, while on board the United 

 States' schooner-of-war the Spark, I was surprised to see the number of 

 these Cormorants already returning towards the keys, so much so that 

 had I been the discoverer of that stream inider similar circumstances, I 



