846 



Tin". W IIITE-CRKSTKl) C'( )RM( )R.\XT. 



the "trininiings" al iIk- liasc nf llic hill. A^ iiiculjation acKaiicos the white 

 nuptial crests are shed, and I lia\e seen no trace of these marks in any 

 specimens examined in June nr Inly. 



A typical Cormorant ronkcrx' i'~. of course, foul h-dui e\er\' ci niceix ahle 

 source. The nests ainl rocks are white with excrement, and with this the cal- 

 low voung are more or less hesnieared. Then ahout tlie nests lie fragments of 

 uneaten fish, and to tliese flies swarm in mx'riads. Add to the general raciness 

 of odor an occasional o\erdone egg, and you ha\e a fine unsavory mess of it. 



Young Cormorants are perfecth' heliiless wiien hatched and are, if po.ssi- 



ble, uglier than young Magjiies. Not only are they 



ick and as nal-ed as 



sin, but their heads are scarcely larger around than their long necks, and a 

 nestful of thent looks more like a bundle of young black-snakes than anything 

 avian. The characteristic orange upon the gular area of the adult is rcHectecl 

 bv a pale vellow, sharply contrasting w ith the posterior blgck, Q\en in the very 

 youngest specimens: while \dungsters half or two-thirds grown are co\-ered 

 with a coarse black down. \\'hen <listmi>cd at the nest the younglings (|uit 

 their quarters and w;iddle otT chniisiK to the furthest nest of the immecliate 

 group, where the\' stand on the defensi\-e a dozen or twent_\- strong. \\'hen 

 brought to haw and, of course, after the\' ha\e dis|iosed of the contents of 

 their crops, no mattci' \\'lK're, tlie\- thrust out the neck al the intruder and 



open the gullet, tintil it almost makes one 



From a Pholografli. (.ofyn«ht. 1908. by IF. L. DatiSOll. 

 YOUNG WHITECKF.STICU COKMOR.WTS OX THi; C,Rl£XVIIJ.i; .\KCH. 



