52 WATER BIRDS 
are fed by regurgitation —a curious process, always 
alarming to the observer. The mother squats at the 
side of the nest, and immediately four or five long black 
necks are stretched up like fingers of a black kid glove 
split at the end. These wave helplessly about, until she 
selects. one and thrusts her bill far down the split, which 
is the throat of the young. She then violently shakes the 
baby, thereby emptying the food from her mouth into 
his. Later on small fish are torn and given them.! 
123 b. BAIRD CORMORANT. — Phalacrocorax 
pelagicus resplendens. 
Famity : The Cormorants. 
Length : 34.00-40.00. 
Adults: Feathers of forehead advancing to base of culmen; gular sae and 
naked lores dull coral-red or reddish brown ; head and neck glossy 
violet-black, more purplish toward head, changing gradually through 
green-blue to glossy bronze-green on under parts; scapulars and 
wing-coverts dark green, tinged with bronze. Back dark green. 
Nuptial Plumage: Neck and rump ornamented with narrow white fila- 
ment-like feathers; flanks with a large patch of pure white. 
Young: Uniform brownish dusky, merging to grayish on head; the 
upper parts darker, with glossy greenish reflections. 
Downy Young: Covered with down of a uniform dark sooty gray 
(Ridgeway). . 
Geographical Distribution : Pacific coast of North America from Wash- 
ington south to Cape St. Lucas, and Mazatlan, Mexico. 
breeding Range: Islands near the coast of California and Washington. 
Breeding Season: Approximately, June 1 to July 15. 
Nest: Of rock nioss or kelp on ledges of perpendicular rock. 
Eggs: 4; pale bluish green, with lime deposit on surface. Size 
2.19 XK 1.44. 
THE Baird Cormorants are less common and more 
timid than either of the foregoing species. They may 
1 See Farallone Cormorants. 
