Jones — On Birds of the Washington Coast. 19 



JUNE WITH THE BIRDS OF THE WASHINGTON 



COAST. 



THE WHITE-CRESTED CORMORANTS. 

 BY LYNDS JONES. 



The proper study of the White-crested Cormorants 

 (Phalacrocorax dilophus cincinaiiis) was made during our 

 stay upon Carroll Islet, but lest the mere narrative of the trip 

 become tiresome I make bold to interpolate the following notes 

 into the narrative while my audience is storm-bound with me 

 at La Push, in the midst of the down-coast journey. 



The reader has already seen enough pictures of the rocks 

 and islands characteristic of this coast to become familiar with 

 the precipitous sides, jagged outlines, verdure-clad top, and 

 crumbling ledges. The accompanying half-tone pictures will 

 give some idea as to what parts of Carroll Islet these 

 Cormorants select as nesting sites, and illustrate certain details 

 which the camera was able tO' record. These pictures represent 

 two somiewhat different kinds of nesting places, and fairly 

 represent the life of these birds during the breeding season. 



Figure 2 is a representation of nearly the entire colony 

 which occupied a sharp ledge jutting out from the northeast 

 corner of the island, a ledge with a sharp and jagged summit 

 ridge, as the picture shows. This was the only colony of this 

 species found in such a situation. Figure 1 represents a 

 part of one of the other and apparently more usual nesting 

 site of this species — a rather narrow ledge of broken 

 shelving rock at the foot of a precipice or over-hang. Ap- 

 parently any relatively flat space sufficiently large to accom- 

 modate the nest may be utilized, either upon the sharp ledge 

 or precipice's foot. A careful scrutiny of any of the nests 

 shown will reveal the fact that one of the prime requisites in a 

 nesting site for the individual nest is that on one side the 

 ground or rock must fall abruptly away. It is on this side 

 that the excrement forms a limy smear, often extending many 

 feet below the nest. The uphill side of the nest is always 

 relativelv clean. 



