PHALACROCORACIDiE — THE CORMORANTS — PIIALACROCORAX. 105 



bhininh' purple ; neck deep grcenish blue; the face and upper part of the neck ornamented with 

 soiai! thinly-dispersed, lonj,', narrow, hair-like, Htraw-cohircd tVutlu'i-s ; Imdy above and iK'neuth 

 deep glossy green ; Hcapulura and wings deep purjile, primaries and tail lilack, tiie latter witii white 

 hlial'ts ; on each side of the abdomen, at the insertion of the leg, a large patch of white ; bill lilack- 

 i.--li hair-color, lighter at the tip ; naked part of the throat, corners of the mouth, and naked skin 

 of liie orbits apparently rich orange. 



" Total length, 36.00 inches j bill, 4.00 ; tail, 9.00 ; tarsi, 3.00. 



"//((ft. Russian America. 



" Nearly allied to, if not identical with, but differs from, the Fdecanm urile of Latham in its 

 nuK'li larger si/e, and in the ornamental ])lumes being dispersed over the face and sides of the neck, 

 instead of on the front of the hitter only " (Uoulw;. 



This species still remains unknown in American c(dlections. It evidently belougH to the same 

 group as P. urilc and I', pehtijicuii, but is very much larger even than the former, and otherwise 

 dilforcnt. 



PalLis's description, in some respects more precise than the preceding, is as follows : — 



" Size of the largest Goose. Form of the preceding [/'. jwhujicus], which also has pure white 

 spots on the Hanks. Body entirely black. Thin white, rather long, and narrow feathers hanging 

 about the neck, as in Ardea. Occiput with an enormous erectile tuft. Around the base of the 

 bill a nake<l skin varied with vermilion, blue, and white, as in the Turkey. About the eyes a kind 

 of ' spectacles ' of thick white skin, si.\ lines broad. Weight, twelve to fourteen pounds. Female 

 sniallir, without the crest and spectacles. 



" This species Steller observed nowhere but in the island named after the unfortunate Bering, 

 where he lived shipwrecked. There they are very common ; but never go to the shores of Caia- 

 tschatka. As it exceeds its relatives in size, it also exceeds them in stupidity. It is a very ridicu- 

 lous-looking bird, on account of the eye-rings, which, so to speak, represent spectacles, and its habit 

 of making clown-like contortions of the neck and head." 



It seems probable that this fine binl must now be ranked among the e.vtinct species. Dr. Leon- 

 hanl Stejneger, who spent two years on Behring Island, and made diligent search for it, writes 

 thus concerning it (cf. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. vol. 6, 1883, p. 65) : " It is not to be doubteil that 



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