. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . under water when it is when several are met with on the water, it is theirlong and slender necks, resembling a number of uprightsticks, which first attract attention. Food.—The Shag feeds on sea-fish, in search of whichit is capable of descending to a great depth, at timeseven to the sea-bottom. Its mode of progression underwater is identical with that of the Cormorant, and bothspecies when about to descend, at first rise slightly in thewater, and then plunge, head-foremost, with tightly closedwings. The path pursued by both Shag
. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . under water when it is when several are met with on the water, it is theirlong and slender necks, resembling a number of uprightsticks, which first attract attention. Food.—The Shag feeds on sea-fish, in search of whichit is capable of descending to a great depth, at timeseven to the sea-bottom. Its mode of progression underwater is identical with that of the Cormorant, and bothspecies when about to descend, at first rise slightly in thewater, and then plunge, head-foremost, with tightly closedwings. The path pursued by both Shag and Cormorantunder water, appears to be one of almost vertical descent; 6 PELECANID^ this, correlated with the fact that they only use their legs aspropelling organs, necessitates then- making a strong initialplunge under water. Indeed, these two birds are divers inthe strict sense of the word, differing from the Auks, whichmay be said to fly with open wings through the water, inpursuit of fry, and sometimes at no great depth below Fig. 1.—shag. Flight.—On the wing the Shag strongly resembles theCormorant, and the two species might easily be confoundedby persons unacquainted with the difference in the sizeof the birds. The Shag, which is only three-fourths of thesize of the Cormorant, is generally to be seen flying lowover the waves from one fishing-ground to another. Exceptwhen migrating, there is seldom any occasion for the birdto rise high in the air, for the nest is generally situated nearthe base of a cliff. Voice.—The note is croaking in character, but softer andmore highly-pitched than that of the Cormorant. Nest.—The Shag is gregarious in the breeding-season,but the colonies are usually smaller than those of thelast species. The nest is generally built in nooks andcaverns on sea-cliffs, rather than in exposed situations. SHAG 7 The ledges of a sea-cave are often tenanted by severalpairs breeding in close proximity, vv^hile dens in a sea-faceof bo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectwaterbi, bookyear1906
