. Birds of the Bible . eitherwould suit the requirements of the text ecjuallv well. Butto change the bittern to the porcupine, as will be explainedin the Bittern chapter, is luidoubtedly a great the old version is correct by every law of naturalhistory. All along the shores of the ^Mediterranean where itbounded the Bible lands, aroiuid the inland seas, and thelargest rivers, the cormorants lived in flocks, and rarelywas a pair seen singly. They liked the rocky shores ofthe Dead Sea, Galilee, and the banks of the Jordanmade splendid fishing-grounds. They were near the sizeof small
. Birds of the Bible . eitherwould suit the requirements of the text ecjuallv well. Butto change the bittern to the porcupine, as will be explainedin the Bittern chapter, is luidoubtedly a great the old version is correct by every law of naturalhistory. All along the shores of the ^Mediterranean where itbounded the Bible lands, aroiuid the inland seas, and thelargest rivers, the cormorants lived in flocks, and rarelywas a pair seen singly. They liked the rocky shores ofthe Dead Sea, Galilee, and the banks of the Jordanmade splendid fishing-grounds. They were near the sizeof small geese, but longer in body, with a shorter, thickerneck. Their bill was almost as long as a pelicans, greenishat the tip, deep 3ellow at the base and around the c^es,and had a sharp-curved tij) above. The plumage was black ovir the luck and back, withgreenish reflections, and very dark i)lacl\ish gray under-neath. They h{)bl)led around the shores with bare webbedfeel liisc geise, but were uo\ nrarl\- such good walkers,. Osprafj approaching nest. BIKDS OF AHOMIXATIOX 181 even at times sceniino to depend upon the stiff tail-feathersfor support. Their wino-s were lont^ and pointed. Theywere ahlc to swim luider tlie water to far outdistance theswiftest boatman. Around the seacoasts they nested in rocky cliffs, andl)y the rivers in the largest trees, building big, deep nestsof dry rusjies, water-grasses, reeds, and roots. Our birdswhich most resemble them in a})})earance lay four small,bluish eggs for the size of the birds. The j^oung areslow about leaving the nest, and only tw o broods are raisedto a season. Great quantities of small fish Avere carried to a nestof young each day, and the old birds, when free frombrooding cares, were known to eat a dozen and a halfgood-sized fish in the same length of time. These Biblecormorants lived mostly on fish, but they were seen to catyoung ducks, herons, and other water birds. Moses pro-nounced against them as an article of food, and their di
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