136 THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 



sombre tint of its sad-coloured livery, with the exception of 

 the bright yellow skin upon the face, which is, however, sufficient 

 to betray the bird when sitting — otherwise quite invisible — 

 upon the high ledges in the twilight obscurity of its cave. 



The crest is another distinction between the two races, though 

 in itself an uncertain criterion ; for, while the black bird often 

 has the crest partially developed, the green-crested one is not 

 always thus ornamented, even in birds actually shot on the 

 nest in the height of the breeding season ; though in winter, on 

 the other hand, I have once or twice obtained individuals 

 with a splendid long " queue." Nevertheless, it must in general 

 be regarded as a nuptial ornament, and a very graceful one, 

 of the adult Green -crested Cormorant, when attired in his 

 rich and beautiful wedding garment of summer. 



The immature Black Cormorant takes more than one season 

 to attain its full bulk, and its plumage in the meantime is a 

 dull black above and a greyish-brown mixture beneath ; but 

 the young Green Cormorant is clad in an entire neat suit 

 of dark bottle green, from the very commencement of its 

 career after leaving the nest. 1 Another distinction may be 

 observed in the eyes ; those of the last mentioned species are 

 of a brilliant clear green, like lustrous emeralds, while the 

 irides of the other are simply grey or brown. 



Many people feel a sort of aversion to the Cormorant as a 

 kind of " unclean bird." It certainly has an ugly name for 



1 There is some misapprehension here, as the Green Cormorant does not 

 attain to its full green and adult plumage quite so suddenly as indicated by our 

 author. —Ed. 



