WHITE-BREASTED COMMON CORMORANT. 389 



blue-green ; feet and tarsi purplish-black. Immediately 

 after I shot the bird I made coloured drawings of the soft 

 parts before any possible change of colouring could take 

 place. It is a large female, measuring in expanse 57f ins. ; 

 total length, 36| ins. ; wing, 14f ins. ; girth round 

 middle of body, 18 ins. ; culmen, 3| ins. ; tarsus, 2| ins. ; 

 outer toe, 4| ins. ; weight, 6 lbs. 12 ozs. The stomach 

 was quite empty. 



The chief features of the specimen are the colour of 

 the iris, the new white feathers of the under-parts, the 

 appearance of white thigh-feathers, and the different 

 ages of the tail-feathers. 



It is quite certain that the bird is not a very young 

 one, and that it is, without the remotest doubt, over 

 a year old, being shot on June 30th, and should there- 

 fore have (according to the British Museum Catalogue) 

 all the breast- and belly-feathers broadly tipped with 

 brownish-black, and in the third year the under-parts 

 should be black, like the adult, but less rich. 



In reply to my article in the " Field," Mr. J. L. Bonhote 

 contributed some interesting and valuable notes on the 

 subject, which appeared in the " Field " for November 

 27th. He described the changes of the plumage of a 

 young Cormorant he had in captivity, which was only 

 two and a half months old when he received it, and it 

 was then of a dull brown colour above and white below, 

 necked with darker feathers ; in the course of a year 

 it moulted slowly between November and March, the 

 back became much darker and greener, and the under- 

 parts dark, but still showing considerable traces of white ; 

 the next year, that is when two years old, the under-parts 

 were entirely black, and the back much as in the adult, 

 but not quite so glossy. The eye, which had hitherto 

 been pale creamy blue, became much greener, although 

 it was not until the third year that the brilliant green eye 

 of the adult was fully assumed. During November and 

 December of the second year several white thigh-feathers 

 appeared. . . . 



