BIRDS 249 



Our collection contains two adult females and one adult male taken 

 about Albemarle and Narboro in January, February and March. 



In life the bare parts of the bird are colored as follows: bill slate- 

 blue; bare skin of sides of head and about base of bill grayish-blue; 

 gular sac light blue; iris varying from cream color to straw-color; 

 tarsus and toes bright pea-green to blue-green, webs blue-green to 

 indigo ; claws grayish-dusky. 



Family PHALACROCORACIDiE. 



Genus Phalacrocorax Brisson. 

 PAa/acrocorax Brissou , Ornithologist, vi, p. 511, 1760. 



Range. — Cosmopolitan except Polynesia. Galapagos Archipelago. 



1 8. PHALACROCORAX HARRISI Rothschild. 



Phalacrocorax harrisi Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club, vii, p. 52, 1898. 

 — Rothschild and Hartert, Novit. Zool., vi, p. 179, 1899 (Galapagos). 

 Nannopterum harrisi ShAlKV^, Gen. and Spec. Birds, p. 235, 1899. 



Ra7ige. — Galapagos Archipelago : Narboro and Albemarle. 



This species was first obtained by the Harris expedition. It is sur- 

 prising that so striking a bird should never have been reported before. 



Our collection contains seven specimens from Narboro and Albe- 

 marle. They all agree with Rothschild's description of the type., but 

 show in addition a greenish iridescence on the upper parts. The 

 color below varies considerably. Some of the darkest males from 

 Narboro are seal brown below. A nesting female from Albemarle is 

 light tawny on the breast, a little darker on the abdomen. The gular 

 sac in life is livid-purplish, or brownish-purple; the iris emerald; the 

 upper mandible black with pale brown tip and tomia ; the lower 

 mandible light brown with darker tomia ; the feet and webs black, 

 claws slaty black. The pupil is elliptical with the longer diameter 

 horizontal. 



Occurs abundantly in the surf and on the shore and rocks of Nar- 

 boro. A few also were found along the shores of Banks Bay and at 

 Black Bight, Albemarle. The birds are entirely unable to fly. 

 When on shore they sit in an upright position and often extend the 

 wings with their planes vertical, somewhat in the manner of vultures 

 while digesting their food. In the water they have a very graceful 

 appearance, carrying the neck bent in a very swanlike fashion. The 

 adults were never heard to make any sound. 



The food consists largely of devilfish (^Octopus)., which the birds 

 obtain bv diving. Some were observed swallowing devilfish more 



