my readers to Graham’s ‘ Birds of Iona and Mull
(Harvie Brown). In certain parts of the Mediterranean
the Shag abounds, especially on the islands of the
Straits of Bonifacio; but wherever there are dark caves
and fissures in Mediterranean cliffs, there this bird is
almost certain to be met with in the breeding-season ;
on the ledges of these caves the Shag piles a mass of
sea-weeds and grasses, upon which it lays three or four
long greenish eggs, covered with a white chalky substance
(that may easily be removed), and rears its young.
These nestlings when first hatched are about as uncanny
in appearance as a bird well can be, being naked, of a
dark sooty blue colour, and blind. A Shag-cavern,
when numerously tenanted in the breeding-season, is,
although most interesting to a naturalist, indeed a
gruesome, and, as a Highlander would say, “ no a
wholesome,” place: on pushing into one of these caves
in a boat, the smell of decaying fish is almost overpowering;
a rush of great dark birds comes forth above,
on both sides, and often almost into the arms and faces
of the intruders (we always ‘ backed’ in), whilst many
of the Shags plunge headlong from the ledges into
the sea, and dive under the boat. The real way to
see the interior in all its weird horror was to illuminate
its recesses by a blue light, when in all probability
many old Shags might be discovered still on their nests
or on the ledges, twisting their long necks with extraordinary
contortions, dazed by the light, and uncertain
whether to go or “ stand by ” to defend their young.
However they might decide this question, we generally
found the stench so horrible, that after taking in the
scene we were glad to beat a speedy retreat and chase
any young Shag that might have taken to the sea, and
be unable to fly, with a view to capturing him alive—an
attempt that, in my experience, was invariably a failure,
for although we could often have killed these youngsters,
had we been so-minded, with oars or boat-hook, they
always managed to dive and conceal themselves amongst
the boulder stones and sea-weed at the foot of the rocks.
I have occasionally, but rarely, found an isolated pair of
Shags that had made their nest on an open ledge of
cliff (I am writing exclusively of my Mediterranean
experience); as a rule, we found these birds nesting in
large caverns or in adjoining crevices in the face of the
cliffs in considerable colonies. I need hardly say that
the Shag is a splendid diver, a very fast swimmer, and,
considering his build, a quick and active flyer. It is
a somewhat remarkable fact that although, as I have
already stated, this species is not common on the
eastern coast of England, few autumns pass by in which
I do not hear of one or more occurrences in our inland
county of Northamptonshire; this is the more surprising
for the reason that although the Common Cormorant
often frequents inland waters, the habits of the Shag
are almost exclusively maritime. The crest is said to
be assumed in spring and to drop off during the
breeding-season in April and May, but there is no rule
without an exception : I never saw a Shag in the
Mediterranean with a crest at any season of the year;
I shot a few on the coast of Cornwall in August with
some crest-feathers still remaining, and a bird of this