78 CICONIIFORMES 



feathers, the thighs show a few white markings, and a broad 

 white stripe reaches from above the eye down eacli side of tlie 

 neck, wliere the coat is somewhat elongated and silky. F. 

 pygmaeus, the Pigmy Cormorant, which breeds across South-East 

 Europe and South Asia to Java and Borneo, as well as in North 

 Africa, is greenish-black with greyer mantle, reddisb-brown head 

 and neck, and small white spots on the lower surface, tlie naked 

 parts being black. The sexes in Phalacrocorax are alike, or nearly 

 so. The young are browner above — with little of the charac- 

 teristic gloss — and brown, or white mottled with brown below, 

 the bill and irides often differing in colour from those of the 

 adult. 



The members of this family as a rule frequent salt water, 

 yet not uncommonly breed on inland lakes and swamps, especi- 

 ally in the proximity of trees ; they are often to be seen in 

 companies, and are decidedly shy and cautious in most cases. 

 The heavy flight is strong, steady, and rapid, bearing a certain 

 resemblance to that of the Duck-tribe, while the birds experience 

 considerable difficulty in starting, and laboriously flap their 

 wings until fairly launched in the air, when they rise to some 

 height, or skim the waves, as fancy dictates. They swim and 

 dive to perfection, remaining a long time submerged, and indulg- 

 ing in many a turn and twist as they pursue their slippery 

 prey, both wings and feet lending their aid to the performance. 

 Ordinarily a spring precedes the plunge from the surface, but in 

 presence of danger they disappear more quietly. Though the 

 gait on land is an awkward waddle. Cormorants perch with ease 

 on rocks, posts, and limbs of trees, where their upright posture 

 gives them the appearance of black bottles or objects hung out 

 to dry ; they are stated, moreover, to be able to cling to the face 

 of a cliff, and certainly can climb among thick vegetation, as in 

 the case of P.,;pygmaeus. Xot unfrequently they roost in trees, 

 with the head drawn back upon the shoulders. The food, 

 normally of flsh, is varied by crustaceans, or even frogs and 

 newts ; the young are fed by regurgitation, and, when old 

 enough, thrust their heads into their parents' bills to help 

 themselves.^ The note, comparatively seldom heard, is a liarsh 

 guttural croak, while the female hisses during incubation, in 

 which she is said to be assisted by the male. The nest, placed 



1 P. L. Sclater, P.Z.S. 1882, p. 4f.8. 



