THE SHAG. 169 
top of the head and sides of the neck, or a white patch on the flanks, as the 
Cormorant does, the Shag puts on—and then it is one of our handsomest birds—a 
large green crest curved forward on the top of the head, which is shed, however, 
as are the nuptial ornaments in the former bird, when the mating season is over, 
and the labour of incubation has commenced. 
The Shag breeds in the end of April, or the beginning of May; the nest 
being always placed on a ledge, or a cliff face, or by preference in the dusky 
interior of a cave, if one is to be found in the neighbourhood. ‘The bird is gre- 
garious; and the site of the nests, which are usually placed close together, is 
easily detected by the white streaks, and patches, of evil smelling excrement, which 
smear the rocks below them. The nest is rude, flat, or but little hollowed out, 
and generally large, but as a rule less than the Cormorant; yet, on the other hand, 
it may be very scanty. It is chiefly composed of sea-weed, substantial twigs, 
(probably picked up at sea), heather stalks, grass, and rushes. 
As a rule the eggs number three to four, but as many as eight have been 
recorded. In this case, it is not improbable that two birds had laid in the same 
nest. The eggs are smaller than those of P. cardo, and indistinguishable in colour ; 
but it would be impossible to tell a large Shag’s egg from a small Cormorant’s. 
The young emerge from the egg, after twenty-six to twenty-eight days incubation, 
as naked purplish-black squabs, which soon become covered on the back, and sides 
of the body, with a soft, somewhat sparse, sooty-grey or brownish-black down, 
which in seven or eight weeks gives place to the full plumage.* ‘Till then, 
the young birds continue in occupation of their cradle, (sometimes, along with eggs 
laid at a late period), being assiduously fed, as among the Cormorants, with fish 
disgorged by the parents, which they voraciously devour. In its first plumage, the 
Shag has a light breast, a slender bill, and the back brown, with a flush of the 
green of later moultings. The Shag is supposed to be three or four years of age 
before reaching full maturity, and its magnificent adult plumage. It moults in 
the autumn. After this season, the head and neck of the adult is black, richly 
washed with metallic-green; the wings and tail duller; the wing-coverts, shoulders, 
and back are edged with black; the eyes are brilliant bronzy-green, and the bare 
skin of the face, and round the eyes, is black. In the early spring, this handsome 
plumage becomes even more splendid. In January a crest of re-curved feathers 
surmounts the top of the head of both sexes, while the bare skin of the face 
changes to rich yellow. The crest continues during all the courting season; shortly 
after nest-building has commenced it begins to be shed, and early in May it has 
* An instance has been recorded in which the down had in nine days only given place to feathers, and 
the wings had grown. 
