CHAPTER XXXIII. 



CORMORANTS AND PELICAXS. 



No wanderer amongst the many waterways of South- 

 Kiangsu or other inland parts of China, wherever it is possible 

 for punt to float and fish to swim, will need any introduction 

 to Phalacrocorax Carbo, the common Cormorant. He may 

 be glad of a little enlightenment respecting the ugly-looking 

 name, guessing perhaps that it was given to fit the ugly- 

 looking bird. Certainly the cormorant by any other name 

 would smell as sweet. But one part, even of the name. 

 is inscrutable. "Phalacro" in Greek means "bald," and 

 "Corax" is the raven, as everybody knows. But what "carbo" 

 stands for in this connexion is only to be guessed. "Lu ssu,'' the 

 Chinese name, is used loosely for more than one bird of the 

 genus. This cormorant has a cousin better known along the 

 Shantung coast than in this neighbourhood. P. Pelatficus. the 

 sea-cormorant. I have spent some time in watching it 

 through glasses as it fished and rested along the rocky side 

 of Liu-kung-tao at Weihaiwei. Needless to say its swimming 

 power is all that could be desired. Its flight is a little heavy 

 perhaps, but is strong, and by no means lacking in speed. 



But it is the cormorant of these waters, the cormorant of 

 the rivers and lakes, as well as of the coasts, that is most 

 interesting as well as best knowntoordinary men. Essentially 

 fish-eaters, the cormorants are utterly uneatable themselves.. 

 More fishy than fish, would be the verdict, probably, of the 

 bold experimenter who should dare to "see what it's like'' on 

 the table. The cormorant needs little description. He has 

 no beauty that we should desire him. His covering is dull 

 and altogether lacking in brilliancy. This does not altogether 

 apply to the green cormorant, which, as its name shows. 

 has a distinct tinge, but to the commoner variety, and 

 specially to such as we see under the unpromising conditions 

 visible on a Chinese punt. When wild, cormorants are 

 more attractive than this. With perfect freedom the}' keep 

 in perfect condition, and what little they have in the way of 

 attractiveness is seen at its best. A sociable family, they 

 may be met with in companies varying from a dozen or two 

 to hundreds or more. If possible they are even more 

 voracious than other birds, which is saying a great deal. One 



