species, is black upon the under side of the body, the neck is rust-red,
a stripe beginning at the eye, and extending down the sides of the neck
is blackish brown, and another below this white. The plumage on the back
is nut-brown, the long feathers are silvery white; the wings and tail are
black, the latter becoming somewhat lighter towards its extremity. The eye
is copper-colour, and the bare skin on the head yellowish green; the beak
is grey, and foot greenish blue. The length of this bird is thirty-three
inches, and its breadth forty-one inches and a half; the wing measures
thirteen inches and tail nine inches and a half. The female resembles her
mate, but is not so brightly coloured. Le Vaillant's Snake Bird inhabits
Africa, where it is to be met with on suitable sheets of water from 15°
north latitude to the Cape of Good Hope.
* * * * *
The CORMORANTS PROPER (_Phalacrocorax_) differ from the Snake Birds
principally in their more bulky shape and in the construction of their
bill. Their beak, which is of moderate length, is compressed at the
sides, rounded above, furrowed at the sides of the upper mandible, bent
downwards and strongly hooked at its tip. The legs are strong, and wings
short, with the third quill longer than the rest. The tail consists of
twelve feathers, and is shorter than that of the Darters. The Cormorants
are met with from the middle of Norway to the south of Europe, and during
the winter resort in countless multitudes to Africa. They are also very
abundant in Central Asia and North America, whence they wander as far as
the West Indies. The habitat of these birds is either the sea or fresh
water, according to circumstances. They frequently resort to large rivers
or lakes thickly skirted with trees, and sometimes make their appearance
in inhabited districts, from which it is difficult to drive them away.
An instance is even recorded in which they took up their quarters in the
centre of a town, selecting the church tower for their citadel. They visit
the sea in great numbers, and there seem to prefer certain localities,
generally selecting a situation where the coast is but little accessible
or where there are long reefs and ridges of rock. They are very abundant
on the coast of Scandinavia, as also in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the
Hebrides, Orkneys, and other similar localities where they are little
disturbed by mankind. During the winter season they are met with in equal
abundance in more southern districts. In Greece they may be seen in great
numbers from one year's end to another, both upon the large lakes and in
the sea. In Egypt, they cover the lakes near the shore, as far as the
eye can reach, whence they every morning fly out to sea in countless
multitudes, returning in the evening. In Southern China and in India they
are equally numerous. Indeed, it may be said that they are met with in
every locality where water and fishes are to be had. In their habits and
mode of life the Cormorants present many peculiarities. They are very
sociable, and generally keep together in flights that are more or less
numerous. It is a rare occurrence to see one of them alone. During the
morning they are always indefatigably employed in fishing; about noon
they betake themselves to repose, and digest their food; towards evening
they are again busy fishing, and afterwards they resort to the places
where they sleep. These are generally lofty trees, growing at some little
distance inland upon islands in rivers or lakes, the same upon which they
subsequently build their nests; they are generally such as afford them
an extensive prospect in every direction, and allow them to fly away and
return with facility. The islands thus frequented are easily recognisable
at a distance by the thick covering of nascent guano by which the ground
is everywhere hidden; indeed, they would soon literally become beds of
that material had it a Peruvian sun to dry, or as Scheffel says, "purify"
it. Similar deposits are likewise to be seen on islands in the sea, which
seldom fail to arrest the attention of the passing mariner. Their history,
however, is quite intelligible, and their appearance remarkable when they
are densely covered with Cormorants, sitting in close ranks like regiments
of soldiers, tier above tier, all turned in the same direction with their
faces towards the sea; thus presenting a strangely picturesque scene,
for although they are stationary, they are by no means motionless; each
of them is constantly moving its head, spreading its tail, or stretching
out its wings, so as to give an appearance of animation to the whole
assemblage. For a single individual among them to remove from the place
where it stands without flying away altogether is an impossibility, so
densely are they crowded together. It is asserted by some that these
birds can only walk while propping themselves up with their tails; this,
however, is not correct; their walk, it is true, is but a clumsy waddle,
still it enables them to get over the ground with tolerable quickness.
Upon the branches of trees the Cormorants are much more at home than on
level ground; nevertheless, like the Snake-necks it is only when swimming
or diving in the water that they show their real capabilities. Should
a boat approach the rock upon which hundreds of them have taken their
station, they first begin to show symptoms of uneasiness by stretching out
their necks and moving their heads; they then begin a sort of restless
shuffling backwards and forwards, and ultimately they take flight; a
few of the assembled multitude rise into the air, flying at first with
fluttering wings, but they soon sweep away, gliding straight forward to
a considerable distance, or rise upwards in circles high into the air;
the majority of them, however, spring at once into the sea, like so many
frogs. Here they instantly dive, and when they come up again may be seen
a considerable distance off, peering at the boat with their little green
eyes and ready to dive again, in an instant, should they think such a
course conducive to their safety. The Darters unquestionably swim and dive
more dexterously, but it is questionable whether any other birds can excel
the Cormorants in this respect. They progress so rapidly under the water,
that a boat manned with strong rowers is unable to overtake them; they
dive likewise not only to a great distance, but to a considerable depth,
and when they come up, they simply take breath and at once dive again.
When chasing their prey beneath the surface they stretch their bodies
quite straight, and by powerful strokes of their feet, dart through the
water with arrow-like swiftness.
That these birds possess a good deal of intelligence is proved by the
fact that in China great numbers of tame Cormorants are taught to catch
fish for the benefit of their owners. Fortune was informed by one of
these Chinese fishermen that the birds so employed are kept in a state of
captivity from the moment of their birth, and that the eggs from which
they are obtained are incubated by barn-door fowls. When old enough they
are taken to the water-side, and there carefully taught to obey their
master's commands, and to bring to him the fishes that they procure. Upon
inland waters the presence of Cormorants is a very serious matter, seeing
that they destroy the fish in incredible quantities. Their voracity is
almost beyond belief; a single Cormorant, when it can get them, will
eat as many fishes as a Pelican. Although Cormorants generally prefer
to build their nests upon trees, when these are not to be found they
content themselves with cavities and projections among rocks or places
of a similar description. In inland situations, or where the woods come
down almost to the sea, they often make their appearance in rookeries and
heronries, and after expelling the Rooks with little trouble, and the
Herons after long-contested battles, proceed to take possession of their
nests, to which they add a few materials of their own selection, and at
once begin to lay their eggs. Should they remain in undisturbed possession
of the invaded locality for a year or two, they are only to be got rid
of with the greatest difficulty. In the year 1812, says Naumann, four
pairs of Cormorants made their appearance in Lutzenburg, not far from the
sea-coast, and built their nests in a wood upon a very high beech-tree,
which had been for several years the resort of Rooks and Herons. After
driving away the Herons, whose nests they took possession of, they each
proceeded to rear two broods, one in May, the other in July, and when
they left the place about the end of autumn, they numbered about thirty
individuals. In the spring of the following year, these repeated their
visit, and continued to return every year in still increasing numbers,
until it was estimated that there were at least 7,000 brooding pairs
assembled in the neighbourhood. Boje counted fifty of their nests in a
single tree, the multitudes of them constantly flying to the sea and
returning again seemed to fill the air, and the noise they made was
positively deafening; the trees upon which they assembled were white with
filth, and the whole place stank in consequence of the quantities of
putrid fishes fallen from their nests. It was only after several years of
unabated exertion that they were at length destroyed or driven away.
The Cormorants generally make their appearance in their breeding-places in
April, and set about preparing their nests with great zeal. Towards the
end of the month, they lay three or four narrow eggs, of a blueish green
colour, but generally incrusted with calcareous deposit. The two sexes sit
by turns for about four weeks, and when the young are hatched feed them
with indefatigable perseverance. Being thus abundantly provided for, the
nestlings grow rapidly; the old birds behave very affectionately towards
their progeny, but when danger threatens will not stay to defend them,
at least from their human enemies. Whenever the old birds visit their
nests, they are literally full to the throat with the food that they
have procured; each of them disgorges on the borders of the nest several
dozens of small fishes, which are immediately appropriated by the hungry
occupants. Many, however, fall upon the ground, and as no Cormorant thinks
it worth while to pick them up, they are left to taint the atmosphere.
Towards the end of June the young birds fly away, and the old ones begin
to rear a second brood. The chase after Cormorants is a very favourite
amusement with the zealous sportsman, although the birds when killed are
of no use whatever. Their watchfulness and cunning when they are at large
are calculated to test his utmost perseverance and caution. Near the trees
where they build their nests, however, they are very much more easily
destroyed, and still more readily in their eyries; their destruction,
indeed, is so simple that it becomes almost a matter of necessity. But
here the sport loses its charms, and the battues that are organised
against them assume very much the appearance of a massacre; every one who
can procure a gun hastens to the scene of action, and multitudes of the
birds are annually slaughtered. In this country the flesh of the Cormorant
is regarded as uneatable; the Laplanders, however, and also the Arabs, are
of a very different opinion, and consider it, on account of its fatness,
to be an especially dainty kind of food.
[Illustration: THE CORMORANT (_Phalacrocorax carbo_). ONE-FIFTH NATURAL
SIZE.]
THE COMMON CORMORANT.
The COMMON CORMORANT (_Phalacrocorax carbo_) is from thirty-five to
thirty-seven inches long, and from sixty to sixty-four broad. The length
of wing is fourteen to fifteen inches, and of tail six and a half to
seven inches. The plumage on the top of head, neck, breast, belly, and
rump is of a glossy blackish green, with a slight metallic lustre. The
fore part of the back and upper surface of the wings brown with a bronze
shade. Owing to the dark margins of the feathers, these parts have
the appearance of being imbricated: quills and tail-feathers black; a
white patch commencing behind the eye surrounds the throat. The eye is
sea-green; beak black, with yellowish base; the bare skin on neck and face
is yellow; and foot black. During the breeding season the Cormorants, more
especially the males, have delicate white feathers on the head; these,
however, soon disappear. The young are more or less grey; the upper parts
of the body being dark, with the imbricated appearance above alluded
to; the under side is yellowish or light grey. This species is commonly
found on all the rocky parts of the British coast. The nests are placed
on high cliffs, many birds congregating together and living harmoniously.
The nest is large, and composed of sticks and a mass of coarse grass and
seaweed, sometimes a foot high. The rough oblong eggs are from four to
six in number, of a chalky white and pale blue colour. In the course of a
few days after hatching, the young are able to take to the water. "These
birds," says Yarrell, "are frequently seen sitting on posts, rails, or
leafless trees by the water-side, when, if a fish should move on the
surface within their sight, it is pounced upon and caught to a certainty.
An eel is a favourite morsel with him, and a Cormorant has been seen to
pick up an eel from the mud, return to the rail he was previously sitting
upon, strike the eel three or four hard blows against the rail, toss it up
into the air, and, catching it by the head in its fall, swallow it in an
instant."
"In China the bridges across the Min, at Fuhchau, may often be seen
crowded with men viewing the feats of the tame fishing Cormorants. These
birds look at a distance about the size of a Goose, and are of a dark
dirty colour. The fisherman who has charge of them stands upon a raft,
about two feet and a half wide and fifteen or twenty feet long, made out
of five large bamboos of similar size and shape, firmly fastened together.
It is very light, and is propelled by a paddle. A basket is placed on it
to contain the fish when caught. Each raft has three or four Cormorants
connected with it. When not fishing they crouch down stupidly on the raft.
"The fisherman, when he wishes to make a Cormorant fish, pushes or throws
it off the raft into the water. If it is not disposed at once to dive and
seek for fish, he beats the water with his paddle, or sometimes strikes
the bird, so that it is glad to dive and get out of his reach. When it
has caught a fish it rises to the surface, holding it in its mouth, and
apparently striving to swallow it. A string tied loosely around its neck
or a metallic ring effectually prevents swallowing, except perhaps in
the case of very small fish. It usually swims directly for the raft. The
fisherman on seeing the prize paddles towards it with all speed, lest it
should escape from the bird. Sometimes the fish is a large one, and there
is evidently a struggle between it and the Cormorant. The fisherman, when
near enough, dexterously passes a net-like bag, fastened to the end of a
pole, over the two, and draws them both on the raft. He then forces the
fish from the grasp of the bird, and, as if to reward the latter for its
cleverness and success, gives it a mouthful of food, which it is enabled
to swallow on his raising the ring from the lower part of its neck. The
bird, if apparently tired out, is allowed to rest awhile on the raft,
and then it is pushed off again into the water and made to dive and hunt
for fish as before. Sometimes the Cormorant, from imperfect training,
swims away from the raft with the fish it has caught. In such a case the
fisherman pursues and speedily overtakes the truant. Sometimes, it is
reported, two or three Cormorants assist in securing a large and powerful
fish, and occasionally two quarrel together for the fish one has taken,
or one pursues the other for the fish in its mouth. At such times the
interest of the spectators on the bridge increases to noisy shouting.
The bird is provided with a sort of pouch or large throat, in which the
small fish are entirely concealed, while the head or tail of the larger
fish protrudes from its mouth. It is only at or near full tide that these
birds are successful in catching fish under and near the bridges, as then
the water is deep and comparatively still, and the fish seem to abound in
the vicinity more than at low-tide. At such times there are frequently
several rafts with Cormorants fishing near the bridges. The skill of the
fisherman in propelling his craft, and the success of the bird in catching
the fish are attested by the delighted curiosity and animated interest of
the spectators."
* * * * *
The PELICANS (_Pelecani_), the largest and most striking members of
this order, are at once recognisable by their enormous beak, furnished
underneath with a capacious bag, and strongly hooked at its extremity.
The upper mandible, which is remarkably depressed from its origin to its
apex, is moderately broad, and rounded at the point; the culmen forms a
conspicuous keel, running along the entire length of the upper jaw, and
at its termination bends down to form the strong claw-like hook at the
extremity. The lower mandible is exceedingly weak and slender, consisting
of two long lateral branches, only joined to each other towards the apex,
and enclosing between them a very capacious bag, formed by a dilatable
expansion of the throat. In comparison with the above most characteristic
features, the rest of the structure of the bird is to the ornithologist of
secondary importance; it is, however, very peculiar. The body is large and
cylindrical, the neck long and slender; the feet are small, toes long, and
connected by a broad web. In the large broad wing, the third quill exceeds
the rest in length; the tail, which is short, broad, and rounded, consists
of twenty or twenty-four feathers. The plumage is thick, but remarkably
hard and stiff; besides the almost naked sac beneath the throat, there is
a considerable space around the eye completely denuded of feathers. The
two sexes resemble each other very closely, but considerable differences
serve to distinguish the old birds from the young.
Pelicans inhabit the torrid regions of the earth, but are also found to a
considerable distance within the limits of the temperate zone. In their
habits and mode of life, the different groups nearly resemble each other,
and we shall therefore confine ourselves to a description of two species
met with in Europe.
None but those who have travelled in Egypt and North Africa can form any
idea of the vast numbers of fish-eating birds that there crowd the shores
of every lake and river. Upon all the Egyptian lakes along the course
of the Nile, during the period of its inundation, and still further to
the south, along the banks of the Blue and White Nile, as well as on the
shores of the Red Sea, Pelicans occur in such immense flocks that the eye
is unable even to estimate their extent. Over a considerable surface of
country they literally cover the quarter, or the half, of every square
mile. When they are swimming out upon the lakes, they look like immense
beds of water-lilies. When they come out of the water to sit upon the
shore, more especially if it be upon one of the islands, and sit in the
sunshine preening their feathers, they look at a distance like a vast
white wall, and when they retire to sleep, all the trees upon the island
are so thickly covered with them that they have the appearance of blossoms
without a single green leaf. To meet a small flock of about ten or a
dozen is an unusual occurrence, but to see hundreds or thousands together
is a very ordinary spectacle. As the spring approaches, these enormous
hosts are in some measure broken up. Many which during the winter season
congregated together make their way to Southern Europe, where they breed,
but numbers of them are left behind. In selecting the place of their
sojourn, these birds seem to make no difference between salt water and
fresh; they frequent both in almost equal numbers, but the depth of the
water is to them a matter of considerable importance.