GREEN CORMORANT. 393 



portionally longer and more slender than that of the Great 

 Cormorant, being of about the same length as the head ; but 

 may be described in the same terms, only its upper outline is 

 straight, not concave, or very slightly so ; the gape-line 

 almost quite straight, and commencing behind the eyes. 



The nostrils obliterated ; the eyes small, their aperture 

 three-twelfths and a half; that of the ear scarcely one-twelfth. 

 The feet are short and strong ; the tibia flattened to the joint ; 

 the tarsus very short, compressed, externally covered with 

 large hexagonal scales, internally with transversely elongated 

 scales or plates, those behind small. The toes gradually 

 increasing in length, from the first, which has about twenty 

 scutella, to the outer, on which are fifty-five, the second hav- 

 ing thirty-four, the third forty-five. The webs are full ; the 

 claws moderate, compressed, arched, strong, rather acute, that 

 of the third toe pectinate. 



The plumage is dense, short, and highly glossed. The 

 feathers of the head, neck, lower parts, and back soft, blended, 

 and silky ; those of the fore part of the back, unless in the 

 middle line, with the scapulars and wing-coverts, shortish, 

 ovate, but rather acute, compact, imbricated, smooth, and 

 satiny, Avith a velvety margin. On the neck are some fila- 

 mentous pencil-tipped plumelets, so small as not to be readily 

 perceived. The wings when folded reach only to the base of 

 the tail, and are rather short, but broad ; with the primary 

 quills short, tapering, with stiff shafts, the third longest, 

 and exceeding the first by half an inch ; the secondaries nar- 

 rowly rounded. The tail is of moderate length, being to the 

 body as one to three, but narrow, straight, much rounded, of 

 twelve strong-shafted feathers, of which the lateral are an 

 inch and three-fourths shorter than the medial. 



The bill is black, with the unguis brownish ; the base of 

 the lower mandible and the basal margins of the upper, 

 yellow, streaked with black ; the membrane at the angle of 

 the mouth orange ; that between the crura of the lower man- 

 dible black, spotted with orange ; the bare space round the 

 eye and from thence to the bill black. The iris sea-gi'een. 

 The feet black. The general colour of the plumage is black- 

 ish-green, with silky lustre ; the imbricated feathers of the 



