Cormorant

“ I have now to speak of a far different specimen of the feathered tribe—the cormorant. He is a vile bird. I say vile, for he’s a glutton; his flesh is rank and unsavory, and he’s far from being a neat, tidy bird. The cormorant—Carbo cormoranus—is common on the shores of Europe and America, and in the islands of the sea as far north as the Arctic circle. They are apparently larger than the goose, but not so heavy. Color black, except the wings dark brown, and sides of the head and a spot on the thigh white. Though web-footed, he perches on trees, and sometimes builds his nest there. ”

“ But unfortunately the cormorant never does anything of the kind; it is not a bird of prey: it is web-footed, a rapid swimmer and diver, and lives upon fish, which it usually swallows as it catches them. Virgil is nearer to fact when he says:—
"When crying cormorants forsake the sea And, stretching to the covert, wing their way." ”

“ The birds on these occasions are put into such parts of the river as are known to be favourite haunts of fish; and their activity under water in pursuit of fish can be compared to nothing so appropriate as a swallow darting after a fly.
Blumenbach tells us the Cormorant occasionally increases in a few years to many thousands on coasts where it was previously unknown. It varies much both in size and colour. The late Joshua Brookes, the surgeon, possessed a Cormorant, which he presented to the Zoological Society. ”

“ Several pictures of the bird have been published. Mr. Stejneger was informed by the natives of Bering Island that the meat of this species was more palatable than that of its congeners, and was used as food in preference to any other. According to Steller, the weight of the cormorant varied from twelve to fourteen pounds, so that one bird was sufficient for three starving men of his shipwrecked crew. The value of the cormorant as food, and its sluggishness, contributed to its extermination. ”

“ Save for a few out-of-the-way islands, there is no country in the world that cannot boast of at least one species of cormorant. Cormorants, then, are an exceedingly successful and flourishing family. It must be very annoying for those worthy professors and museum naturalists who are always lecturing to us about the all-importance of protective colouration that the most flourishing families of birds—the crows and the cormorants—are as conspicuous as it is possible for a thing in feathers to be. ”

“ It is usually possible to distinguish the other two by the fact that the little cormorant has more white on the throat than his somewhat larger cousin. But, when all is said and done, it is not of great importance to distinguish the various species. All cormorants have almost exactly the same habits. The nests are all mere platforms of sticks. They are all expert fishermen, and seem equally at home on fresh or salt water. They can swim either on or under water and move at a considerable pace, covering nearly 150 yards in a minute. ”

“ The method of catching prey which is practised by the Cormorant is familiar to us from the fact that the Cormorant has been trained to play the same part in the water as the falcon in the air, and has been taught to catch fish, and bring them ashore for its master. So adroit are they, that if one of them should catch a fish which is too heavy for it another bird will come to its assistance, and the two together will bring the struggling prey to land. ”

“ The Cormorant is a most voracious bird, swallowing a considerable weight of fish at a meal, and digesting them so rapidly that it is soon ready for another supply. Although it is essentially a marine bird, hunger often takes it inland, especially to places where are lakes or large rivers. Mr. Waterton mentions, in his "Essays on Natural History," that the Cormorants often visited the lake at Walton Hall, and that they soon became so familiar and fearless, that after catching and eating their prey they would sit on the terrace and preen their feathers under the windows of the drawing-room. ”

“ Whilst asleep, they stand with the body almost erect, but never bend the tarsus so as to apply it in its whole length, as the Cormorant does; they keep their head snugly covered among their scapulars, and at times emit a wheezing sound, which I supposed to be produced by their breathing. In rainy weather they often remain roosted the greater part of the day, and on such occasions they stand erect, with their neck and head stretched upwards, remaining perfectly motionless, as if to allow the water to glide off their plumage. ”

“ The sun sank lower as they descended the other side of the ridge. Somewhere along the western shore of Mount Desert the Cormorant should be nosing her way, leaving a creaming wake to mark her course among the islands. But the doctor, straining his eye, could not see her anywhere. Perhaps some shoulder of mountain or dorsal of island concealed her. What if there were something the matter with her engine! He knew nothing of such things. Suppose she had not even started! Tom Alexander's only son might die! ”

“ The cormorant, when bathing, raises himself a little out of the water whilst still maintaining a horizontal position, and in this attitude, supported as it would seem on the feet, he commences violently to beat the sea with his wings, moving also the tail and, I think, treading down with the feet upon the water. The sea is soon beaten all into foam, and when he has accomplished this, desisting, he begins to sport about in the whiteness of it in an odd excited manner, making little turns and darts and often being just submerged, but no more. ”

“ Op. cit., but in Japan, especially at Gifu, the cormorant is in common use, while D. Ross, The Land of Five Rivers and Sindh (London, 1883) , states that on the Indus not only the Cormorant (Graculus carbo) , but also the Pelican and the Otter are similarly employed. Early in the seventeenth century an attempt was made to introduce Cormorant fishing into England as a sport, but failed (cf. Wright, op. cit., p. 182) . There was at one time a court official, styled The Master of the Herons. ”

“ This species of cormorant is very abundant throughout all the channels. A second species, a jet black bird (Phalacrocorax imperialis) , builds its nest in trees; and there was a characteristic "rookery" of this tree cormorant at Port Bermejo, where we anchored in the month of November. It was in a quiet sequestered place, where two old and leafless beech trees overhung the margin of an inland pond. The nests were constructed of dried grass, and were placed among the terminal branches of the trees. ”

“ It is evident that the wings which are needed for supporting such weights, and which, as we have seen, exceed twelve feet in length from tip to tip, would be useless in the water, and would hinder rather than aid the bird if it attempted to dive as the close-winged cormorant does. Accordingly, we find that the Pelican is not a diver, and, instead of chasing its finny prey under water, after the manner of the cormorant, it contents itself with scooping up in its beak the fishes which come to the surface of the water. ”

“ Cormorants have a certain invisibility which is brought about by their universal presence. This blindness appears to have affected everyone, even the earliest observers.
The earliest accounts provide a composite picture of the distribution and abundance of the pelagic cormorant which is very similar to that encountered today. In southeastern Alaska, beginning at the eastern edge of the area under discussion, the pelagic cormorant was pictured as the sole resident cormorant. However, we know from Willet's collection of a Brandt's cormorant at Forrester Island that this might not be quite true. ”

“ The Cormorant continued to nest in the trees on the shore of Fritton Lake for many years after Sir T. Browne's time. A manuscript note in a copy of Berkenhout's "Natural History of Great Britain and Ireland," published in 1769, is descriptive of a Cormorant killed at Belton Decoy (near the same lake) on the 11th September, 1775, and also states that "a vast number of these birds, even to some thousands, roost every night upon the trees," being in the neighbourhood of the decoy they are never shot, and "build their nests upon the top of these trees." ”

“ Taken when young from the nest, this bird is easily tamed and can be trained to fish for its keeper, as was of old time commonly done in England, where the master of the cormorants was one of the officers of the royal household. Nowadays the practice is nearly obsolete. When taken out to furnish sport, a strap is fastened round the bird’s neck so as, without impeding its breath, to hinder it from swallowing its captures. ”

“ 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.
[Pg 190]
An Heraldic Tigre passant. ”

“ It drops from a great height when descending upon its prey, and sometimes it is seen to emerge from the water holding a fish by the tail, in which case it cannot very well manage to swallow it, so the fish is tossed up into the air and, turning a complete somersault, comes down head foremost into the bird’s mouth. The home of the cormorant is among the steep ledges of rock by the sea, where they build their nests and rear their young. Their nests are made of dry sticks, weeds and moss. The old birds return each year to their old nests, repair them and begin rearing another brood. ”

“ P. carbo, the Common Cormorant, with fourteen rectrices, has the head and neck glossy blue-black, interspersed with white hair-like feathers, the remaining upper parts bronzy-black, the throat white, the bill and feet grey-black. In spring a slight crest adorns the occiput and white patches appear on the thighs. In common with its congeners this species has naked lores, orbital and gular regions, which are here of a yellow colour, becoming redder below the eye; the iris is emerald-green. The skin of the throat is dilatable and forms a pouch for food. ”

“ For these Cormorants had come to this spot to meet their cousin the Pelican to consult with him on some family matters. Upon their first arrival at the place they had set to work to get together a good supply of fish, for this is the only food of both the Cormorant and the Pelican. In a short time they landed a great number, and [230] bestowed them in a safe place, and then they set to work catching fish for themselves and eating them greedily.
You might suppose such a lazy-looking bird would find it impossible to catch anything so active as fish. ”

“ The Pacific coast of North America and the shores of New Zealand are rich in species and their plumage is more beautiful than that of those found in other parts of the world.
The name Cormorant is derived from the Latin words Corvus Marinus, meaning marine crow or raven. This name may have been suggested by the fact that these birds are fond of sitting on an elevated perch, especially after a hearty meal. In this habit of seeking high perches, and because of their dark color, they resemble the raven or crow. The generic name Phalacrocorax is derived from the Greek words, meaning bald crow. ”

“ The Common Cormorant (P. carbo) also occurs in New England, but it is rare to the southward of Maine. Both species breed abundantly on rocky shores about the Gulf of St. Lawrence and northward, visiting New England waters during the autumn and winter. While with us they are exclusively maritime, frequenting by choice the vicinity of outlying ledges and small, rocky islands. When passing from place to place, they often fly in large flocks, which are usually arranged in long lines or single files. They live on fish, which they capture by diving. ”

“ When he enters the house, his daughter hangs a kettle over the fire and her husband goes out. The old man looks after him through the window, but sees only a cormorant which flies over the water, dives, and comes up with a sea-scorpion. ”

“ Seton Thompson well says that every animal has some strong point, or it could not exist; and some weak point, or the other animals could not exist. Cormorants have several strong points, and that is why they flourish like the green bay tree, notwithstanding their conspicuous plumage. They are as hardy as the Scotchman, as voracious as the ostrich, as tenacious of life as a cat, to say nothing of being piscatorial experts, powerful fliers, and champion divers. ”

“ In Great Britain, due to its northern latitude, cormorants are commonly seen where the coast is high and rocky; but in America they are less often visible because they dwell mainly in the far north. They are very odd birds. Sitting on rocks which overhang the water, every now and then one will drop into the sea, splash about for a moment or two, and then return to his perch. Then you may be quite sure that he has caught and swallowed a fish. Sometimes you may see them swimming along with their heads under water, watching for victims in the depths below. ”

“ A winter visitor. In December 1846 a terrific sea-storm raged here for the greater part of the month; at its termination I counted between the Burn of Boyne and Greenside of Gamrie, a distance of about nine miles, nearly sixty of these little birds lying dead, besides a number of guillemots and razorbills. Great numbers were also found dead in the fields throughout the county.
Carbo cormoranus [Cormorant] .
Frequent, except for a short time during summer. A pair or two may breed with us, but that is all. Like the divers, they destroy great numbers of fish. ”