CORMORANTS 



95 



They assemble in number.'^, sometimes several 

 dozen pairs together, for the business of nest 

 building. Often they breed in colonies with 

 Herons and Ibises, but not always; for I have 

 found as many as twenty-five nests at a time, all 

 clustered about in a dozen trees, and no other 

 water birds near. The nest is a bulky afJair of 

 sticks and often some of the long gray Spanish 

 moss is used. All the nests I have ever examined 



also contained freshly plucked leaves, which 

 appeared to have been placed as a finishing touch 

 just before the eggs were laid. 



They inhabit the low countries, breeding in 

 the coastal regions as far north as North Caro- 

 lina and up the Mississippi valley to southern 

 Illinois. They are fresh-water birds and rarely 

 appear where the sea-water runs. 



T. Gilbert Pe.xkson. 



CORMORANTS 



Order Steganopodcs ; family Phalacrocoracidcc 



HE Cormorants comprise two genera, the Plialacrocorax, embracing the true Cor- 

 morants, or " Shags " as they are frequently called, and including about thirty 

 species, and the monotypic Naiuioptenim, with Harris's Cormorant, the 

 flightless and rare bird of the Galapagos Islands, as its single representative. 

 This bird is very large and uses its wings only as fins in swimming. 



Of the true Cormorants, about ten species occur in North America. They 

 are chiefl-y maritime in their habitats, though some species are often found in 

 fresh water far inland. They are disposed to be decidedly gregarious at all 

 seasons, and during the breeding period they assemble in large colonies on 

 ledges or rocky islands along the seacoast. When migrating they fly at a con- 

 siderable altitude, but ordinarily they do not rise far above the water. They 



dive readily in pursuit of fish, but always from the surt'ace or a low perch, and not from the 

 air. 



The superficial physical peculiarities of the Cormorants include a bare, expansible 

 membrane under the lower mandible; a compressed bill of which the upper half is strongly 

 hooked; nostrils which apparently in the adult do not admit air, the birds breathing through 

 the mouth ; and the claw of the middle toe armed with a comb-like process used in preening 

 the plumage. The stiff and rounded tail of twelve to fourteen feathers is employed to assist 

 the bird in walking and climbing. The birds are usually from two to three feet long, and 

 the body is elongated and powert'ully muscled. The neck is rather long and the legs are short 

 and stout, and set far back. The wings are comparatively short, extending but slightly 

 beyond the base of the tail. The plumage is very dense, and is generally dark in color, with 

 greenish and bluish sheens. Frequently the head is crested, and during the breeding season 

 may be further ornamented by plumes of slight feathers of hair-like structure. 



That Cormorants can dive to a great depth is indicated by the record of one caught 

 off the coast of England in a crab-pot 120 feet below the surface. They feed entirely on 

 fishes, which they pursue and capture under water where they use both their feet and wings 

 in swimming. If the fish captured has been seized in a position which makes swallowing it 

 inconvenient, it is tossed into the air and caught again in a way which simplifies the swallow- 

 ing operation. This diet gives the Cormorants' flesh a strongly fishy flavor, though this is 

 less pronounced in the young birds and these are sometimes eaten. 



Cormorants build rough nests, composed mostly of seaweeds, and placed usually on the 

 ground, though sometimes in low bushes. The eggs are from three to five, of a greenish 

 blue tinge, and covered with a crust of lime-like matter. The young are hatched naked 

 but are soon covered with a black down. They feed by thrusting their heads down the 

 throats of the parents and extracting the partly digested fish therefrom. 

 Vol. 1—8 



