Liver, a fabulous bird, supposed to have given its name to Liverpool and
commemorated in the arms of that city. It is traditionally described as a
bird that frequented _the pool_, near which the town was afterwards
founded. The arms granted in 1797 are thus blazoned: _Argent a cormorant,
in the beak a branch of seaweed all proper_, and for crest, _on a wreath
of the colours, a cormorant, the wings elevated, in the beak a branch of
Laver proper_. It is more than probable that the bird on the arms
suggested the name "Liver" being applied to it. The fiction naturally
arose from the desire to find a derivation for the name of the town. It
is, however, always depicted as a cormorant. On the shield the bird is
always depicted with the wings _close_, and on the crest the wings are
_elevated_.
[Illustration: An Heraldic Tigre passant.]