y generally recognized by Illiger's term _Steganopodes_, of
which it with its allies forms a family _Phalacrocoracidae_.

The cormorant (_P. carbo_) frequents almost all the sea-coast of Europe,
and breeds in societies at various stations, most generally on steep
cliffs, but occasionally on rocky islands as well as on trees. The nest
consists of a large mass of sea-weed, and, with the ground immediately
surrounding it, generally looks as though bespattered with whitewash,
from the excrement of the bird, which lives entirely on fish. The eggs,
from four to six in number, are small, and have a thick, soft,
calcareous shell, bluish-white when first laid, but soon becoming
discoloured. The young are hatched blind, and covered with an inky-black
skin. They remain for some time in the squab-condition, and are then
highly esteemed for food by the northern islanders, their flesh being
said to taste as well as a roasted hare's. Their first plumage is of a
sombre brownish-black above, and more or less white beneath. They take
two or three years to assume the fully adult dress, which is deep
black, glossed above with bronze, and varied in the breeding-season with
white on the cheeks and flanks, besides being adorned by filamentary
feathers on the head, and further set off by a bright yellow gape. The
old cormorant looks nearly as big as a goose, but is really much
smaller; its flesh is quite uneatable.

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.[3] Arrived at the waterside, it is cast off. It at once dives
and darts along the bottom as swiftly as an arrow in quest of its prey,
rapidly scanning every hole or pool. A fish is generally seized within a
few seconds of its being sighted, and as each is taken the bird rises to
the surface with its capture in its bill. It does not take much longer
to dispose of the prize in the dilatable skin of its throat so far as
the strap will allow, and the pursuit is recommenced until the bird's
gular pouch, capacious as it is, will hold no more. It then returns to
its keeper, who has been anxiously watching and encouraging