NESTS A.VP EGGS OF Al'STRAUAN BIRVS. Q71; 



I must not forget to mention the strong ammoniacal odoiu- of the 

 place, which was most overpowering, especially to those members of 

 the expedition whose stomachs were rendered nndnly sensitive by the 

 motion of our boat at sea. 



Colonel Legge mentions that about thirty or forty pairs of White- 

 breasted Cormorants were breeding on the top of Blanche Kock dimng 

 his visit to the Action Islands 28th November, 1886. Large colonies 

 are also known to breed on Cape Frederick Henry (Bruni Island). 

 Mr. D. Le Souef found a small community of these birds building on 

 ledges of the cliff, their nests being in close proximity to tliose of the 

 White-capped Albatross (T. caulus), on Albatross Island. In one 

 instance, two of the Connoi-ants' nests were placed within a foot of a 

 brooding Albatross, and both Albatross and nest were plentifully 

 besprinkled with the excreta of the Cormorants. 



723. — PhaL-\crocorax hypoleucus, Brandt. — (653) 

 P. rcirliii', Gmehn. 



PIED CORMORANT. 



Figure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vii., pi. 68. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xxvi., p. 397. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Gould : Birds of Australia, Hand- 

 book, vol. ii., p. 491 (1865) ; North : Austn. Mus. Cat., p. 365, 

 (1889); Walker: Ibis, p. 258 (1892). 



Geographical Distrihution. — South Queensland, New South Wales, 

 Victoria, Soutli, West, and North-west Australia. 



Nest. — Somewhat flat, composed of sticks (saltbush, &c.), and placed 

 in colonies on the ground, sometimes in trees, inland ; on an islet, or 

 by the sea-shore. 



Eggit. — Clutch, two to foiu", usually three ; longish oval in shape ; 

 texture of shell coarse ; svu'face without gloss ; colour, gi'eenisli-white, 

 more or less coated with lime. Dimensions in inches of a pair : 

 (1) 2-42 X 1-47, (2) 2-3 X 1-48. 



Ohxervatioiia. — This fine black and white Cormorant is probably 

 the most common species of Au.stralian Cormorants. (The true 

 F. rariii>: of Gmelin is said to be restricted to New Zealand.) Except, 

 perhaps, during the breeding season, it is seen more frequently inland 

 than the large Black Cormorant. 



As other writers have stated, its large size and the contrast of its 

 pied plumage, render it a most conspicuous object in a landscape, 

 especially when seen artistically posed on a sandbank, low ledge of rock, 

 or projecting stump. Tlie birds are gregarious, particularly during the 

 breeding season, when they may be seen in numbers in certain favoiu'ed 

 localities on the coast. 



