THE commo:n^ coemorant. 



PHALACROCORAX CARBO. 



Tail of fourteen feathers. Winter— Head, neck, and all the under parts, black, 

 with green reflections ; close to the base of the bill a broad white gorget ; 

 on the neck a few faint whitish lines ; feathers of the back and wings bronze- 

 colour bordered with black ; primaries and tail black ; beak dusl^ ; orbits 

 greenish yellow ; irides green ; feet black. Summer — feathers of the head 

 elongated, forming a crest ; on the head and neck numerous long silky white 

 feathers ; on the thighs a patch of pure white. Young birds brown and grey, 

 the gorget greyish white. Length three feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky. 



Phalacrocorax, the modern systematic name of the 

 genus Cormorant, is given by Willughby as a synonym 

 of the Coot, and with much propriety, for translated into 

 English it means "Bald Crow." Applied to the Cormorant, 

 it must be considered as descriptive of the semblance of 

 baldness produced by the white feathers of the head dur- 

 ing the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby 

 describes under the name of Corvus aquaticus, or Water 



