CURMOR.-\NTS 



99 



BRANDT'S CORMORANT 



Phalacrocorax penicillatus i Urainlt) 



\ () r Xumtit-r :_•_■ 



Other Names. — Penciled Cormorant: Tui'ted Cor- 

 morant; 'Pownscnd's Cormorant; Sliag ; Brown Cor- 

 morant. 



General Description. — Length, ;};} inches. Prevail- 

 ing color, blackish. Throat sac. heart-shaped behind: 

 head, not crested: bill, slender and nearly straight; tail, 

 short. 



Color. — .Adults in Breeding Plu.m.m.e: General 

 color, deep glossy greenish-black with violet or steel- 

 blue reflections on neck and head; feathers of middle 

 of back, plain, those of shoulders and wing-coverts with 

 narrow black edgings; a series of yellow straight fila- 

 mentous plumes two inches or more in length along 



each side of neck; many others longer and somewhat 

 webbed on shoulders; throat sac. dark blue: a border 

 of mouse-brown feathers behind gular sac; bill, dusky; 

 feet, black; iris, green. Adults in Winter: Plumes, 

 absent. Young: Plain blackish-brown, more rusty 

 below; abdomen grayish; shoulders and wing-coverts, 

 paler-edged. 



Nest and Eggs.— Xest : On ledges of rock islands; 

 a compact structure of eel grass or seaweed, cemented 

 with guano. Eggs : 3 to 5, light greenish-blue, with 

 the usual chalky deposit. 



Distribution. — Pacific coast, from Vancouver Island 

 to Cape San Lucas. 



Brandt's Cormorant is abundant on the I\acific 

 coast. Its general demeanor, as it perches on 

 rocks or snags, suggests that it is a rather dull 

 and sluggish bird, but in reality it is verv sus- 

 picious and wary, and this state of mind is shown 

 plainly by its manner when it is in the water. 

 Then its long neck is stretched to its fullest 

 length, and its head is constantly turning from 

 side to side, as if it feared the approach of an 

 enemy from any direction. 



The Cormorant dives readily and skillfully, 

 and uses both its wings and its feet in making 



headwa}- under water. In fact it seems quite as 

 much at home in the water as a Duck, and yet, for 

 some altogether mysterious reason, it has the 

 very unducklike habit of perching in the sun- 

 shine, with wings si)read, and evidently waiting 

 for its plumage to dry. The Northern Raven and 

 the Western Gull seem to have a special weak- 

 ness for the eggs of the Cormorant, of which 

 fact apparently it is very well aware; for, when 

 the Ravens or Culls are about, the Cormorant 

 that is incubating will not leave the eggs until its 

 mate is at hand to take its place immediately. 





Photo by W. L. Finley and H. T. Bohlman 



BRANDT'S CORMORANT AT NEST 



