PHALACROCORAX CARBO. 1187 



In Central Russia it is a bird of passage chiefly, passing northwards to the White Sea, breeding there nume- 

 rously, and likewise occurring in Finland and on the Baltic coasts. In Sweden Nilsson says that it is found 

 in autumn and winter. Mr. Robert Collett informs Mr. Dresser that it is common on the Norwegian coasts, 

 but occurs most numerously above the Arctic circle. Faber writes that it breeds in the north of Iceland ; and 

 in the Faroes it is common and resident. In North Germany it is plentiful ; lout it is less abundant in Poland 

 than formerly. In Denmark Mr. Collin states that it used to nest in forests near the sea, but being so 

 destructive to the fisheries it is now exterminated in many places, still retaining its hold, however, in some 

 localities ; it is, however, only a summer visitor to that country, although stragglers are said to remain on water 

 which is open in winter. In Holland it used to be abundant ; but since its favourite resorts have been drained, 

 it has disappeared from there, and is only found in a few localities. 



In Great Britain it is very abundant, frequenting the entire sea-board up to the extreme north of Scotland, 

 and thence to the Hebrides and the Orkneys and Shetlands. Here and there, however, it is found in much 

 greater abundance than in other places, keeping to a certain extent near its breeding-places, which are always 

 situated near good fishing-grounds. It is, perhaps, on the whole less numerous on the east coasts than on the 

 west, the latter furnishing it with better shelter and more numerous breeding-places. It used to breed at 

 Flamborough Head ; but Mr. Dresser states that it has been driven away from that station, and does not nest 

 nearer to it than the Faroe Islands. It is plentiful on the Welsh coasts, and also on many parts of the Irish 

 sea-board. 



Turning towards Southern Europe I find that it is said to be partly migratory to France, but breeds at 

 Boulogne and Dieppe. In Southern Germany it is also found, but not in abundance ; it appears every 

 spring in Bohemia, writes Dr. Fritsch in the ' Journal fur Ornithologie,' but it is not allowed to settle there, 

 so destructive is it to the fish. In Spain and Portugal it is common on the coasts, and also on some of the 

 rivers ; but it is chiefly a winter bird. In Sardinia Mr. Brooke says it is extremely common on the rocky 

 parts of the coast, and in Malta and Sicily is also plentiful ; but in the former island Mr. Wright says it is chiefly 

 a •winter visitor. It occurs in Tuscany, -which is one of the comparatively few places where it breeds on trees, 

 but throughout Italy is found chiefly, according to Salvadori, in autumn and winter. In Transylvania it is 

 principally seen on the larger rivers in winter, and occurs on the Danube from Austria down to its mouth. 



Passing now to the continent of Africa, I find Favier, as quoted by Col. Irby, stating that it is found on 

 the coast of Morocco, as also on lakes and rivers, from December until February ; it is, however, said by Loche 

 to be resident in Algeria on large lakes. In Egypt it is, says Capt. Shelley (B. of Egypt, p. 295), very plentiful, 

 and is more numerous on the Nile in winter than later in the season. Von Heuglin states that it leaves the 

 Nile in March, that it is very abundant in Central and Upper Egypt, and not found south of Assouan. Its 

 occurrence in South Africa does not appear to be perfectly substantiated, for Mr. Dresser states that the 

 specimens Layard refers to in his 'Birds of Africa' prove to be the allied species, Ph. lucidus ; Mr. Andersson, 

 however, in the 'Birds of Darnara Land,' says that it is not rare in Walwich Bay; and if so, there is no reason 

 why it should not extend to the Cape. 



Lastly, the Cormorant is an inhabitant of the Atlantic coasts of North America. It is tolerably abun- 

 dant in Greenland, being found on both coasts, and it extends from Hudson's Bay down to the coasts of 

 Georgia and Carolina. In the Bay of Fundy Mr. Dresser found it common, and he remarks that further south 

 in the States it penetrates as far inland as the Missouri. 



Habits. — In the tropics, where the haunts of the Cormorant are mostly in wild country or on unfrequented 

 shores, it is not such a well-known bird as in Great Britain, where its gaunt figure is in many parts quite a 

 feature of the coast-scenery. It is essentially a sea-coast bird, living principally on salt-water fish, but never- 

 theless frequenting rivers and lakes which abound in fish in the vicinity of the sea, where, when its numbers 

 are great, it creates most serious havoc among the finny tribes. In India and Ceylon it is to be found on 

 jheels, lakes, swamps, and large rivers, as well as on estuaries, harbours, and the open coast. The most notable 

 feature in the economy of this Cormorant is its extraordinary voracity and its remarkable digestive powers. 

 It is a most expert diver, disappearing instantaneously beneath the surface without making any splash at all, 

 and once under water pursues its prey with great speed, using its wings half extended and taking short quick 

 strokes. In pursuing a wounded bird up the arm of a shallow brackish lagoon I have had a good opportunity 



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