THE COMMON OR GREAT CORMORANT. 
249 
habit of feeding with livers and lights ; the consequence was, 
they made such a furious charge that I had to run to his as- 
sistance with a stick, and even so did not beat them off without 
difficulty. Their attack on dogs, cats, and poultry, if unprotected, 
was always fatal. They fought at once with their bills, wings, 
and claws, screaming frightfully all the time. In fact, the cause 
of my parting with them was their having destroyed a fine Spanish 
pointer : he had incautiously strayed into the place where I kept 
them, and they immediately flew at and attacked him in front 
and rear ; his loud howlings brought me to his aid. I was 
astonished to find they had got him down ; and, before I could 
rescue him from their fury, they had greatly injured him in one 
of his shoulders, so much so, that he afterwards died of the 
wound” (p. 334).* 
Mr. Ball states (Oct. 3, 1845) that — “In the Zoological 
Garden, Phoenix Park, Dublin, a cormorant has been for about 
two years in confinement. He is a fierce bold bird in spring, 
and may often be seen on the lawn with a large stick in his mouth, 
evidently with a nest-making intent. His eye then is of a beau- 
tiful green, very different from its dusky colour in winter. This 
cormorant catches a considerable number of fish in the pond. 
Sometimes, when he gets a large eel, the struggle to keep it down 
when swallowed, seems to be one of great exertion. He has 
sometimes killed very large tench and carp, much too large for 
him to swallow. When approached, he throws back his head 
almost on his tail, which is spread, and makes a very curious 
croaking noise. On one occasion a heron came near him, when 
he seized the bird by the neck, and, though assistance was near, 
killed it in a few moments. He has latterly been imprisoned for 
making similar attempts on geese.” 
These Irish cormorants were very far from exhibiting the same 
amiable and unblemished character as the individuals noticed by 
Montagu and Selby, as having been in their possession. A long 
and interesting account of the one kept by the former author 
* This has been copied in Stanley’s ‘ Familiar History of Birds.’ 
