WATER BIRDS 



rises to windward, with its long n&ck and tail 

 stretched to their full extent. Gaining a suf- 

 ficient height, it swings round to leeward, and 

 is soon soaring and plunging again. 



The adult gannet is chalky white all over 

 except for the outer halves of the wings, which 

 look as if they had been dipped in ink. The 

 shape of the bird is characteristic with its long 

 neck and tail, but the spectacular plunging 

 makes its recognition an easy one. 



While the gannet is sometimes called a 

 " Solon goose," its cousin, the shag or cor- 

 morant, is called in the South a " nigger 

 goose " on account of its black color. The 

 derivation of cormorant, namely from corvus 

 marinus, also points to its dusky hue. There 

 are two kinds of cormorants seen along this 

 coast in the migrations, the commoner of 

 which is the double crested cormorant, and 

 the rarer bears, paradoxically, the name of 

 common cormorant. The latter bird in small 

 numbers sometimes passes the winter here. 

 They are uncanny looking birds, veritable 

 imps of darkness. 



The double crested cormorant has two little 

 tufts of feathers, one on either side of its head, 

 and while its whole plumage is black with a 



137 



