The Cormorant 



The adult is of a deep glossy greenish black, which be- 

 comes more bronze in tint on the mantle. Many of the 

 feathers on the head and neck are white, and there is a 

 white patch on the thighs which is assumed during the 

 winter and lost in May. The young are brownish and 

 lack the gloss of the old birds ; the under parts are whitish. 

 They become adult in about three years. Length 36 in. ; 

 wing 14 in. 



THE SHAG 



Phalacrocorax graculus, Linnaeus 



The Shag is widely distributed round our coasts, 

 especially those rocky portions abounding in caves, on the 

 ledges of which it breeds. It is a smaller and more local 

 species than the last, and is never found breeding inland and 

 rarely in colonies. In all other ways it is a counterpart of 

 its larger congener, with which it is often confounded by 

 local fishermen. 



During the breeding season it is rather noisy, the note 

 being a harsh " kraik, kraik." 



The adult is of a uniform glossy bronze green and wears 

 for a short time in spring an upright and forwardly-directed 

 crest. The young resemble those of the Cormorant except 

 in size, but the tail has only twelve instead of fourteen tail 

 feathers, and this forms an unmistakable character at all 

 ages. The absence of the pale gular pouch will also enable 

 this species to be recognised when on the wing. Length 

 27 in.; wing 10-75 in. 



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