THE FLORIDA CORMORANT. 435 



mannei' of the Anhinga or Snake-bird, and easily dive without shewing their 

 backs. 



They procure their food entirely by diving from the surface of the water, 

 never from on wing, as some compilers assert; nay" the very form of their 

 bill, and the want of air-cells, such as plunging birds are usually provided 

 with, prevent them from darting from above into the water, as is the habit of 

 Gannets and other birds, which seek for food on wing, go far out to sea, and 

 stand gales such as the Cormorant, which rarely ventures out of sight of 

 the shores, does not dare to encounter, or of those which, like Gulls, pass 

 swiftly in curved lines over the surface, picking up their prey. On emerg- 

 ing, these Cormorants usually swallow their prey if it has been so seized as 

 to enable them to do so with ease; if not, they throw it up to a short distance 

 in the air, receive it with open bill, and gulp it head foremost. If the fish is 

 large, they swim or fly to the shore, or alight on a tree with it, and there 

 beat and tear it to pieces, after which they swallow it. Their appetite is 

 scarcely satiable, and they gorge themselves to the utmost at every con- 

 venient opportunity. 



The flight of this species is perhaps more rapid than that of the others, and 

 is performed by continued flappings when the bird is travelling, but by 

 alternate flappings and sailings of great elegance during the beginning of the 

 breeding season, or when they collect in large flocks in lowering weather, 

 sometimes also when about to alight. Their food consists chiefly of fish, and 

 they generally prefer those of small size. While on the Florida Keys, I 

 procured five specimens of the Hippocampus, fresh and uninjured, from the 

 gullets of some of these Cormorants. They are hard to kill, and live to a 

 great age. 



They are easily treated in captivity; but their awkward movements on the 

 ground, where they often use the tail as a support, render them less pleasing 

 objects than other feathered pets. Besides, they eat and mute inordinately, 

 and instead of charming you with songs, utter no sound excepting a grunt. 

 Their flesh is dark, generally tough, and has a rank fishy taste. The Indians 

 and Negroes of the Floridas kill the young when nearly able to fly, and after 

 skinning them, salt them for food. I have seen them offered for sale in the 

 New Orleans market, the poorer people there making gombo soup of them. 



A bird of this species, which I shot near its breeding place, and which, on 

 being examined, proved to be a female, had the feathers of the tail covered 

 with delicate slender sea-weeds of a bright green colour, such as I have 

 often observed on marine turtles, and which appeared to have actually grown 

 there. 



The slender feathers on the sides of the head fall off by the time incubation 

 has commenced, and do not appear during winter, as is alleged by authors 



