1883.] . 393 Brewster. 



that it was rarely disturbed ; a fact owing more to the inaccessi- 

 bility of the stronghold than to any forbearance on the part of 

 neighboring fishermen. The nesting place on Perroquet Island, 

 however, was despoiled the day before we landed by Indians, 

 who did their work so thoroughly that only empty nests and oc- 

 casional broken eggs remained to mark the spot where less than 

 a week before we had seen hundreds of birds sitting in fancied 

 security. 



Of the Gannet's habits and general manner of life I learned 

 little, if anything new, although for several weeks the superb 

 birds were almost constantly w^ith us ; — floating idly on the blue 

 sea ; skimming close to the waves in the teeth of a stiff breeze • 

 hovering excitedly over schools of capelin among which they 

 plunged with fierce energy ; and at evening, stringing out in long 

 lines against the sunset sky as they flapped their way homeward 

 to the rookery. But most vivid of all is the recollection of their 

 presence on a certain occasion when our vessel was overtaken by 

 a squall in the middle of the Gulf. At the height of the confu- 

 sion, when the voices of the men struggling to take in sail were 

 drowned by the rush of the wind, and the sea, a moment before 

 so calm, was furrowed by furious gusts, overhead, against the 

 black storm clouds where lightning flashed and thunder rolled in- 

 cessantly, a score of the majestic birds sailed ; calm, impassive, 

 emotionless, breasting the gale as easily as if it were the gentlest 

 summer breeze. How often must such a group have been the 

 sole witnesses of still wilder scenes, when vessels less fortunate 

 than ours have foundered and sunk with all on board. 



73. Phalacrocorax carbo, Linn. — Common Cormorant. 



The Common Cormorant was observed on only two occasions : 

 at Wreck Bay, Anticosti, where we found a small colony nesting, 

 and near Point du Chene, where a few were fishing in the harbor. 



The colony at Wreck Bay comprised only about twenty nests 



bulky structures of sticks and sea- weed built on the projections of 

 a vertical limestone cliff some fifteen feet below the summit and 

 at least one hundred above the sea, and inaccessible to one unpro- 

 vided with a rope. At the time of our visit (July 7) each nest 

 contained from two to four nearly grown youno*. These sat erect 

 in the nests vibrating their gular pouches incessantly with a 

 quivering motion, as if panting. The adults came and went 



