8 



CORMORANT. 



with its head downwards. One of these birda^ 

 however, has been seen to miss its aim, and to 

 catch the fish with its head upwards; in this 

 position the cormorant endeavoured to swallow 

 its prey, but when the fish had passed about half- 

 way down its captor's throat, the sharp fins pre- 

 vented its further progress, and both bird and 

 fish were soon dead. The poor cormorant seemed 

 terribly distressed, and made violent struggles, 

 but all to no purpose; for the fish was im- 

 movably fixed, and could neither be swallowed 

 nor rejected. 



The feathers of the cormorant, although they 

 appear to be of a dusky black, are really of a 

 very deep green, so deep, indeed, as to appear 

 black at a little distance, something like the 

 plumage of the magpie. The nest is composed 

 of dried sea-weed, and is usually placed on lofty 

 rocks, but is sometimes built among the branches 

 of trees. The eggs are remarkable for a thick 

 coating of chalk, which seems to envelope the 

 shell quite independently, and can be easily 

 removed with a knife. There are from three to 

 five eggs in each nest. 



Our remaining English pelican is the Gannet 

 {Sola hassanea), also called the Solan Goose. It 

 is to be found on many of our shores, but especi- 



