28 ANIMAL LIFE UNDER WATER 



and, when it leaves the rock, drops on the water 

 with a tremendous splash, swims a few yards, 

 and then disappears below the surface with scarce 

 a ripple. 



I have never yet made up my mind which 

 has the worst smell, a cormorant rookery, a 

 gannetry, or a crowded heronry. If, however, 

 the reader decides to spend a time concealed 

 among cormorants, I can guarantee that the 

 observation of the quaint habits of this bird will 

 amply repay the inconvenience caused by the 

 stench. 



The nest of the cormorant consists of a large 

 piled-up structure made of seaweed, marine 

 plants and debris from the shore. Old nests are 

 rebuilt year by year until they become ungainly 

 structures. The eggs, usually three to five in 

 number, are white, with a rough chalky surface. 

 A peculiarity of the cormorant family is the 

 spread-eagle attitude which these birds assume, 

 and they will sit in this position for an hour or 

 two at a time, motionless except for a waggle 

 of the tail or an occasional flapping of the wings. 

 It would appear as if the pose afforded ease to 

 the bird when distended with fish, for the 

 cormorant always sits in this position after a 



