264 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



approached rapidly in the skiff, went through several con- 

 tortions and retchings and disgorged a fish before flying. I 

 saw one of the adult females apparently feeding a male 

 which Avas on a nest; she hovered above him, while with 

 raised head and partly spread wings, he trembled like a 

 young pigeon when being fed, at the same time he made 

 the rattling sound previously mentioned, and seemed to be 

 taking regurgitated food. Observations on the persecution 

 of cormorants by man-o'-war birds have been given in the 

 notes on the cormorants. 



Three distinct plumages of the full grown birds were 

 seen; the adult male and female and a few immature full 

 grown birds having the head entirely white. A comparison 

 of colors made in the field is here given, tiiey having been 

 noted at the time from fresh specimens compared with 

 Eidgway's " Nomenclature of Colors." 



Adult male. — Iris, chestnut; feet and legs, black; gular 

 pouch in dead specimens, orange chrome; when inflated in 

 the living birds it appears brighter and more of a vermilion 

 color; bill, black. 



Adult female. — Iris, chestnut; feet and legs, deep flesh 

 color; gular, heliotrope purple. 



Immature. — Iris, chestnut; eyelids, gula and feet, pale 

 blue; feet coated with guano. 



The gular pouch of the males is capable of great disten- 

 tion, appearing when full blown, like toy balloons. Some 

 were seen on the wing with inflated gular w^hich seemed 

 almost bright scarlet in color. 



Mr. Belding notes this species abundant at the Cape 

 region; they certainly were in swarms at the rookery on 

 Santa Margarita Island. They were seen occasionally along 

 the estero, but more at the lagoon in lower Purisima canon. 

 At this place I saw some birds drop upon the water for a 

 moment in feeding, somewhat like a tern, the wings being kept 



