BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 13 



Order STEGANOPODES. (The Totipalmate Swimmers.) 



Swimming birds with all four toes fully webbed; hind toe lengthened, 

 scarcely elevated; tibia feathered; bill horny, not lamellate; nostrils very 

 small or abortive ; a prominent gular pouch ; tarsus reticulate. All our 

 species are large aquatic birds, feeding on fish, of which they consume 

 great quantities. 



FAMILY SULID^. (THE GANNETS.) 



Bill long, cleft to beyond eyes, very stout at base, the tip not hooked ; 

 the edges irregularly serrate ; a nasal groove but the nostril abortive ; 

 gular sac small, naked ; wings long, pointed ; tail long and stiff, with 

 pointed feathers; feet stout. Body heavy, the tissues under the skin 

 with air chambers. 



GENUS SULA. 



(117) Gannet. 



(Sula bassana.) 



An accidental visitor from the Atlantic coast, which has been met 

 with on Lake Ontario three or four times. 



FAMILY PHALACROCORACID^:. (THE CORMORANTS.) 



Bill slender, compressed, strongly hooked, the cutting edges un- 

 even; gular pouch small; wings short; tail large, of very stiff feathers, 

 often used to partially support the body ; legs set far back ; a nasal groove 

 with abortive nostrils. 



GENUS PHALACROCORAX. 







(119) Cormorant. 



(Phalacrocorax carbo.) 



An uncommon spring and autumn visitor to the larger bodies of 

 water. Breeds along the North Atlantic coast. 



(120) Double-crested Cormorant. 



(Phalacrocorax dilophus.) 



A regular but not a common spring and autumn visitor to our lakes ; 

 probably breeds about the waters of the northern part of the Province, 

 as it does commonly in Manitoba and Assiniboia. 



