320 
PELECAXID.E. 
for life with them, my man pulling in a light boat close upon 
their track, aided by a wind in our favour, and yet being unable 
to get so much as a snap shot at them. I could not even get a 
distinct \uew of them ; a splash in the water and a momentary 
glimpse of the back was all that could be seen. Indeed, had I 
not known the habits of the birds when closely pressed, I should 
have imagined that there were some large fish plapng ahead of 
us. Again, when disturbed upon a cliff. Shags will seldom or 
never fly straight out, but vull drop suddenly from their perch 
and make at once for the water, usually diving if a boat hap- 
pens to be near them. Their mode of rising is curious, when 
a flock is merely put on the alert, as by the distant report of a 
gun, and is not hurried in its movements. Those which are 
to windward take wing first, then those next to them, and so on 
gradually, so that the last birds are not upon the vung until 
the first have proceeded far upon their way. It is common to 
see flocks numbering several hundreds, usually attracted by 
the sillacks. AVhen a voe is taken possession of by a predatory 
horde like this, it is mostly the young birds that approach the 
shore, the old ones keeping outside, more scattered. I have 
shot crested Shags both in December and in January, and have 
repeatedly seen them in the middle of winter, though not so 
commonly as in the breeding season. By April nearly all the 
old Shags have paired, and may be seen sitting up in their 
nesting-places, the brilliant metallic-looking green and bronze 
of their plumage presenting a superb appearance in the sun- 
light. The first eggs are laid early in IMay, when the birds 
are to be seen carrying large pieces of seaweed to their nests in 
the cliffs. They generally build pretty near the water, 
but in ledges where the cliff overhangs ; so that in order to 
reach the nests, one must either descend by a rope or make 
the attempt from a boat. They often lay as many as five eggs, 
and make a very large nest of grass and seaweed, which by the 
time the young are ready to leave becomes a fcetid rotten mass. 
Shags usually — perhaps always — build in company, and carry 
the whitening of their dwellings to such an extent that the clifts 
