NESTS AXD EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



977 



of H.M.S. "Penguin," on 2nd Maj% 1891, observed a colony of I'ied 

 Connoiants breeding. The nests were rudely constructed of twigs, and 

 built on tlie bushes about three feet from the gi'ound. Each nest con- 

 tained three eggs, placed in a slightly defined hollow. Numerous dead 

 fishes, some small, some large, were strewn about, and the aroma of 

 the place was " decidedly more pungent than agreeable." The birds 

 themselves were somewhat shy, and did not admit of a very near 

 approach before taking vnng. 



Tlie Pied Cormorants have been found breeding in the spring from 

 September to November, and in autumn from March to May. 



724. — Phjllacrocor.v.x melanoleucus, Yieillot. — (655) 

 LITTLE CORMORANT. 



Figure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vii., pi. 70. 

 Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xxvi., p. 398. 

 Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Campbell : Southern Science Record 

 (1883) ; North : Austn. Mus. Cat., p. 366 (1889). 



Geographical Dixtrihution. — Australia in general and Tasmania; 

 also New Zealand, New Caledonia, New Guinea, up to Moluccas and 

 Pelew Islands, and west to Lombok. 



Nest. — Constructed of sticks, &e., lined in.side with leaves, in some 

 instances biiilt entirely of bark, and placed on the stem or branch of 

 a low tree, or on bushes, such as polygonum, in water, in a rookery, 

 occasionally in company with those of other species of Cormorants, 

 Darters, Herons, &c. Dimensions of an average nest, about 12 inches 

 across. 



Eggs. — Clutch, three to four, occasionally five ; inclined to oval in 

 shape; texture of shell coarse; surface without gloss; colour, bluish or 

 gi-eenish-wliite, irregularlv coated with lime. Dimensions in inches of 

 a proper clutch: (1) '1-98 x 1-27, (2) 1-92 x 1-23, (3) 1-87 x 1-26, 

 (4) 1-82 X 1-23; of a more roundish set : (1) 181 x 1-32, (2) 1-79 x 1-32, 

 (3) 1-75 X 1-32, (4) 1 -74 X 1-32. 



OhservatuDi^. — Tlie little black and white Cormorant, the smallest 

 of the Austrahan species, is widely distributed over Australia, including 

 Tasmania, besides some extra- Australian localities suitable to its habits. 



It is not only a lover of the armlets of the sea, but of river reaches, 

 and lonely lagoons far inland. In a quiet nook, in the most unexpec- 

 ted of places, one may frequently find the Little Cormorant fishing 

 alone. 



It was reported to Gould, probably by Gilbert, that in the Poi-t 

 Darwin distiict this species constructs its nest and rears its young in 

 the tea-trees (Melaleuca) bordering the rivers near the coast, seven or 

 eight pairs associating for that purpose in a single tree. At that time 

 the birds are particularly pugnacious. 

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