Evening star., 1916-12-24

been shot along the Potomac river. This
cormorant would go farther south. but
the Florida cormorant comes north to
the capes Of North Carolina and some
times strays into the Chesapeake and
the Potomac, and the northern cor
nnorant does not want to poach on the
fishing grounds of his southern cousin.
Audubon also described two other cor.
morants of America, one which he
called the violet-green cormorant and
the other TownSeEd's cormorant, which
dwell along the Pacific coast. Audubon,
writing in 1888, OF the violet-green cor
morant, said: This cormorant. the most
beautiful hitherto found within the linz
it's of the United States was obtained
by Mr. Townsend at Cape Disappearance.
near the entrance of the Columbia river.
The specimen from which the figure in
the plate was taken WAS transmitted to
me by that jealous student of nature.
The beautiful gloss of its silky plum
age suggested the specific name which
| have given it," Audubon said that all
of our cormorants feed principally on
fish OF various kinds, and when they
have seized one that is too large to be
swallowed entire they carry IL to tho
shore or to the branch of a tree and
there thrash and tear it to pieces.
''Sone fishes which they have swal-
lowed, says Audubon. evidently incom-
mode them, and ou some occasions
have seen them shake their heads with
great violence and disgorse the fish or
pass it downward into the stomach"
The great pioneer American orithoio-
gist writes that the cormorants secure
their prey by diving and pursuing it I'M
der water with the wings partially ex-
tended and employed as paddles, while
the tail directs their course and checks
or accelerates their speed.
The keeping of cor1norants tanned and
trained for catching fish and retrieving
them was common in England two cen-
turies ago and more and one of the ofti-
GERS OF the royal household bore the title
and performed the functions of master
Of the cnrmorants." The keeper OF
cormoranrs would fasten a strap
around the lower part of the long neck
of the bird between the body of the
bird and its cdpaciDuS pouch, called the
guar pouch. Releasing the bird in the
waters to be fished, it would dive. swim
least considerably below the surface.
1t would seize a fish. rise to the sur
face and then swallow II as far as
the gular pouch 1t would dive again
and continue this process until its
pouch was full. Then it would return
to its keeper, who. b.. manipulat the
pouch and neck with his hand, would
cause the bird to disgorge the fish.
Then the operation would be resumed.
care being taken, of course. to allow
the bird enough OF me 1lSn lot IT'S suS.
tenance ana proper upkeep.
Audobon remarked that these birds
were expert in catching fish thrown to
them. He relates that some which he
saw in London. that were domestfcated
and kept in pools. were so expert in
receiving Il fish thrown to them from q
distance of several yards, by a sudden
and precise movement of the head and
neck. as seldom to miss one in a Dozen"
Milton mentioned the cormorant in his
poetical works and compared the bird
to Satan. The cormorant has habit,
after diving. of perching on tree or
rock with outstretched wings as though
it were hanging itself out to dry. It
will remain motionless in this attitude
for 2 long time.
Cormorant fishing is carried on by
certain classes of the Japanese at
night, and in their boats they carry
braziers with flaming wood fires to at
tract the fish IT has been written that
the imperial household department OF
Japan, in order to protect and aid this
Did practice of fishing. pays a small
yearly pension to the professional fish
ers and allows them free access to
certain forests that they may have
wood to feed the fishing fires in the
0razierS.