THE COMMON CORMORANT 165 



ORDER STEGANOPODES 



FAMILY PELECANID^E 



Feet entirely webbed, or all four toes connected by webs. 



THE COMMON CORMORANT 

 phalacr6corax carbo 



Tail of fourteen feathers. Winter — head, neck, and all the under parts, 

 black, with green reflections ; close to the base of the bill a broad white 

 gorget ; on the neck a few faint whitish lines ; feathers of the back and 

 wings bronze-colour bordered with black ; primaries and tail black ; 

 beak dusky ; orbits greenish yellow ; irides green ; feet black. Summer 

 — feathers of the head elongated, forming a crest ; on the head and neck 

 numerous long silky white feathers ; on the thighs a patch of pure white. 

 Young birds brown and grey, the gorget greyish white. Length three 

 feet. Eggs greenish white, chalky. 



Phalacrocorax, the modern systematic name of the genus Cor- 

 morant, is given by Willughby as a synonym of the Coot, and with 

 much propriety, for translated into English it means ' Bald Crow '. 

 Applied to the Cormorant, it must be considered as descriptive of 

 the semblance of baldness produced by the white feathers of the 

 head during the breeding season. The Cormorant Willughby 

 describes under the name of Corvus aquations, or Water Raven. 

 The English name, ' Corvorant ', is clearly Corvus vorans, a voracious 

 Raven ; and ' Cormorant ' perhaps a corruption of Corvus marinus, 

 Sea Raven. 



Seaside visitors are pretty sure of seeing more than one specimen 

 of this bird, if they care to look for them, for the Cormorant fre- 

 quents all parts of the coast as well as lakes and rivers, and does 

 not leave us at any period of the year. Often we may see two or 

 three of these birds flying along together at a slight distance above 

 the surface of the sea, distinguished by their black hue, long out- 

 stretched neck, and rapid waving of the wings. They fly swiftly 

 in a straight line, and seem to be kept from dipping into the water 

 by making ahead at full speed. There is no buoyancy in their flight, 

 no floating in the air, or soaring ; their sole motive for using their 

 narrow but muscular wings is clearly that they may repair to or 

 from some favourite spot with greater speed than they can attain 

 by swimming or diving. Occasionally, while engaged in a boating 

 expedition, we may encounter a party of three or four occupied 

 in fishing. They are shy, and will not allow a near approach, but 

 even at a distance they may be distinguished by their large size, 

 sooty hue, long necks, and hooked beaks. They sit low in the water, 

 often dipping their heads below the surface, and in this posture 

 advancing, in order that their search for food may not be impeded 



