FAMILY PHALACROCORACIDjE 



open mouth. The nests were untidy heaps of 

 twigs on which were deposited two whitish eggs 

 speckled with brown. 



24. Family PHALACROCORACID^E 



The Cormorants 



These are gregarious, aquatic, fish-eating 

 birds related to the pelicans, having a long 

 bill somewhat hooked at the tip with a rudi- 

 ment of a pouch beneath it and feet with all 

 four toes connected by a web. In size they 

 are comparable to, or larger than the ducks, 

 but have the neck longer and the wings 

 broader and less pointed. They are among 

 the most expert swimmers and divers, and 

 seek their food by swimming under water 

 like grebes or sea ducks, but have to spend 

 much of their time perched on rocks drying 

 their plumage, which seems to be less water- 

 proof than that of many aquatic birds. Their .| 

 flight is characteristic, performed with steady 

 beats of the wings, the flocks maintaining 

 wonderfully perfect formation in long, oblique 

 lines or V-shaped figures. They are birds of 

 sombre plumage and disagreeable uncleanly 

 habits, and are represented on the coasts and 

 larger inland waters of most parts of the 

 world. 



i. Phalacrocorax vigua vigua (Vieillot) 

 Brazilian Cormorant 



Length about 610 mm. (24.00 in.); tail about 

 152 165 mm. (6.00 6.50 in.). 

 114 



