THE COMMON Oil GREAT CORMORANT. 249 



habit of feeding with livers and lights ; the consequence was, 

 they made such a furious charge that I had to run to liis as- 

 sistance with a stick, and even so did not beat them off without 

 difficultj'. Their attack on dogs, cats, and poultry, if unprotected, 

 was always fatal. They fought at once with their bills, wings, 

 and claws, screaming frightfully all the time. In fact, the cause 

 of ray parting with them was their having destroyed a fine Spanisli 

 pointer : he had incautiously strayed into the place where I kept 

 them, and they immediately flew at and attacked him in front 

 and rear; his loud howlings brought me to his aid. I was 

 astonished to find they had got him down ; and, before I could 

 rescue him from their fury, they had greatly injured him in one 

 of his shoulders, so mucli so, that he afterwards died of the 

 wound" (p. 334).* 



Mr. BaU states (Oct. 3, 1845) that— "In the Zoological 

 Garden, Phoenix Park, Dublin, a cormorant has been for about 

 two years in confinement. He is a fierce bold bird in spring, 

 and may often be seen on the lawn with a large stick in his mouth, 

 evidently with a nest-making intent. His eye then is of a beau- 

 tiful green, very different from its dusky colour in winter. This 

 cormorant catches a considerable number of fish in the pond. 

 Sometimes, when he gets a large eel, the struggle to keep it down 

 when swallowed, seems to be one of great exertion. He has 

 sometimes killed very large tench and carp, much too large for 

 him to swallow. When approached, he throws back his head 

 almost on his tail, which is spread, and makes a very curious 

 croaking noise. On one occasion a heron came near him, when 

 he seized the bit'd by the neck, and, though assistance was near, 

 killed it in a few moments. He has latterly been imprisoned for 

 making similar attempts on geese." 



These Irish cormorants were very far from exliibiting the same 

 amiable and unblemished character as the individuals noticed by 

 Montagu and Selby, as having been in their possession. A long 

 and interesting account of the one kept by the former author 



* This has becu copied iu Stanley's ' Familiar History of Birds.' 



