388 
FISHING CORMORANTS. 
on the backs of the buffaloes, which are plunging into the 
water, and patiently accommodating themselves to this in- 
cumbrance. 5 ^ We know that cows will allow of Magpies 
sitting on their backs, and pecking holes in their hides, — for 
which they ought to be grateful, as the Magpie is doing the 
poor beast an essential service, by ridding it of the grub of 
the Gad-fly ( CEstrus hovis ), the sound of even one of which 
will send a herd off at full gallop, with their tails in the air; 
but as the Pelican’s beak is by no means fitted for boring 
into the tough coat of a buffalo, we cannot account for the 
apparent satisfaction expressed by the animal on its making 
this settlement. 
Of the voracity and capacious stomach of the Pelican, as 
well as of his pouch, we have spoken before (p. 44). Of this 
the Chinese take advantage, and train a species of Pelican or 
Cormorant, called by them Loo-fou, as fishing- birds. Mr. 
Smith, an intelligent missionary, gives a detailed account of 
this mode of fishing, which came under his immediate obser- 
vation when at Nantai, in China. Generally about the time 
of low water a boatman might be seen near the arches of the 
bridge, with four or five Cormorants perched on its gunwale. 
At a given signal from the owner, one of these birds bounded 
from the boat into the stream, and after looking about for a 
few moments, dived to the bottom, becoming invisible, some- 
times for two minutes, when it generally arose at forty or 
fifty yards’ distance, to breathe. After another minute, the 
bird again descended, and repeated the process till it brought 
a fish to the surface struggling in its beak. This was a 
signal to the boatman to paddle his little vessel to the spot, 
where he cast a net into the river, and hauled both bird and 
fish into the boat. The bird, conscious of its desert, flapped 
its wings, and by various odd motions, sought the usual 
reward of a piece of fish or other food for its success. Some- 
times two cormorants were fishing at the same time, and 
were often for many minutes apparently lost. The fisherman, 
however, easily followed them, his little boat consisting 
Mignan’s Travels. 
