GREAT CORMORANT. 381 



broivn or bronzed, ivith greenish-black margins ; a greyish- 

 white band on the throat, ascending to the eyes; some scat- 

 tered, extremely minute, filiform, pencil-tipped, white plumu- 

 lets on the head and neck, and a few ivhite streaks over the 

 thigh. Adult in spring coloured as in ivinter, tcith the 

 addition of a longitudinal greenish-black crest, numerous 

 linear white feathers on the head and neck, the throat-band 

 pure white, and a roundish patch of that colour over the 

 thigh. Young with the upper part of the head and the neck 

 dusky-brown, finely streaked ivith broicnish-grey ; cheeks and 

 fore-neck greyish-ichite ,mottledwithbroicnish-gr ey ; abrownish- 

 white band on the throat ; loiver parts greyish- white, mottled 

 with dusky, becoming darker behind ; upper parts nearly as 

 in the adult. 



Male in Winter. — Although not of an elegant form, nor 

 remarkable for beauty of colouring, the Great Cormorant has 

 a conspicuous appearance when, perched on some surf-beaten 

 crag, he stands nearly erect, -syrithing his long neck, as he 

 eyes the approaching boat with suspicion. His body is large, 

 full, depressed and elongated, his neck about a fourth shorter, 

 and very thick ; his head oblong, flattened above, anteriorly 

 narrowed. The bill is shorter than the head, but opens to 

 beyond the eyes, stout, firm, but rather slender, compressed, 

 nearly straight, at the tip decurved, and having the sides 

 irregularly scaly. The upper mandible has the dorsal line 

 considerably concave, the ridge rounded, with a narrow groove 

 on each side, the sides convex, the unguis narrow, decurved, 

 thin-edged, but rather obtuse, the edges sharp and a little 

 inflexed, the separate basal piece on each side elongated and 

 narrow ; the lower mandible with the basal portion rather 

 broad and laterally somewhat concave, the crura rather narrow, 

 their sides erect and convex, the lower outline straight, the 

 intercrural space very long, narrow, with a bare extensile 

 membrane, the intercalated piece slender, the dorsal line 

 slightly descending, the tip compressed, and obliquely trun- 

 cate, the edges sharp and inflexed ; the gape-line ascending 

 at the base, then straight, at the end decurved. 



The mouth is rather wide, and capable of being much 



