424 THE DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. 



distance from the shore. They enter our large bays, rivers and creeks, 

 going up as far as the tide, but are seldom or never seen fishing in fresh- 

 water. Their stay along the Middle Districts continues from the beginning 

 of October to the middle of April; farther east they are seen a month earlier, 

 and disappear a fortnight later. A good number breed on the Seal Islands off 

 the Bay of Fundy, but the greater part return to Labrador and Baffin's Bay, 

 where Dr. Richardson found this species. To that excellent man and 

 intrepid traveller, we are indebted, among other valuable fruits of his 

 labours, for the first good description of this bird. From his account and 

 the information which I have received from Captain James Clark Ross, I 

 believe that it does not go much farther north than the place where it was 

 observed by the first mentioned traveller; and no Cormorants were seen 

 during the late voyage to the Arctic circle. It is probable that neither the 

 Double-crested nor the Florida Cormorants occur in any part of Europe; at 

 least, if they have been described as birds of that quarter of the globe, I can 

 find no account sufficiently correct to enable me to recognise them. 



A few miles from one of the entrances of the Harbour of Whapatiguan, is 

 a low and flat island about a mile in length, on which the present species 

 breeds. As we sailed past it, we could easily observe the birds on their 

 nests, all over the rock, which was completely white-washed with their 

 excrement, that emitted a disagreeable odour to a great distance. I had seen 

 several islands near the Harbour of Great Macatina inhabited by these 

 Cormorants, but being anxious to complete the examination of one subject at 

 a time, and knowing that we should see a greater number as we approached 

 the Straits of Belle Isle, I put off the investigation until I should have leisure 

 to prosecute it satisfactorily. 



My son, accompanied by the captain and four sailors, sailed for Cormorant 

 Island, on which, however, they found great difficulty in landing, for the 

 surf broke so fearfully as to call into requisition all the judgment and good 

 management of Mr. Emery. The moment they landed, almost all -the birds 

 of the island rose on wing, darkening the air, and alighted at some distance 

 on the water in large bodies. They were so shy that it was not without 

 considerable difficulty that ten of them were obtained. At the first shot, 

 hundreds of young ones scrambled out of their nests, and huddled together 

 in packs of fifteen or twenty. When the men approached them, they opened 

 their bills, squeaked, hissed, and puffed in a most outrageous manner; and 

 the noise produced by the multitudes on the island was not merely disagree- 

 able, but really shocking. Some of the nests contained eggs, and the young 

 were of all sizes, from the newly hatched up to those able to fly; none, 

 however, even of the largest, attempted to gain the water, but all preferred 

 hiding themselves in the fissures of the rocks, or behind the nests. It was 



