CORMORANT AND OTHER DIVERS 27 



metallic hue, the throat is white, and during the 

 breeding season a white patch appears on the 

 thighs. It has fourteen feathers in the tail. 



The shag, or green cormorant, is consider- 

 ably smaller; the dark plumage has a green, 

 metallic tint, there is no white at any time on 

 the bird, but during the breeding season a dark 

 green crescent develops on the head, the feathers 

 of which are curved forwards. It has only twelve 

 feathers in the tail. 



The two species also differ in their nesting 

 habits. Cormorants nest in colonies, mainly 

 upon the top of precipitous cliffs, but they also 

 build in trees and sometimes on the ground 

 beside inland waters. 



The shag, on the other hand, is a solitary 

 bird. It selects the most inaccessible ledge upon 

 which to build its nest, either on the face of a 

 cliff or in a cave. This species is entirely mari- 

 time in its habits. 



The cormorant is a more timid bird than the 

 shag, and when both are sitting together on a 

 rock in the sea the former will take to flight and 

 skim away over the surface of the water when 

 a boat is still two or three hundred yards away. 

 The shag usually remains considerably longer, 



