CORMORANTS AND THE GIPPSLAND LAKES FISHERY 
109 
me as indicative of the great difficulty experienced by the 
Cormorants in catching the average SAvift-moving food-fish, 
even when the latter is small. 
May. — Sixty-one received of which twelve were empty. 
The empty stomachs were forwarded merely as examples 
of many shot in this condition either while roosting or going 
to roost in the early afternoon. 
May diet; percentage volume of each food species. 
Early in the month the birds still were not plentiful and 
it was remarked, “I do not think there are more than about 
one thousand birds [Large Black] on the lakes at present.” 
Towards the end of May, however, the number increased 
considerably. It would appear from the results that because 
of this increase and the fact that their main food item 
(Anchovy) was not then available, food fishes entered into 
the diet to a greater extent than at any other period. The all- 
important Bream forms about 25 per cent, of the total. The 
number of effective stomachs received was greater than for 
any other month. 
June. — Thirty stomachs received of which five were empty. 
The appearance of the Anchovy in the lakes is refiected in 
the food diagram. Of fourteen out of fifteen stomachs in 
Oarfieh 
Bream 
Skipjack 
Trevally 
Flathead 
Ludrlck 
Oohlea 
Sprat 
Anchovy 
FIG. 10. 
June diet ; percentage volume of each food species. 
