25 [Vol. xxvii, 



having tlie basal half white and the terminal part black 

 glossed with bluish and shading into brown towards the 

 middle^ the white basal portion being only partially concealed. 

 The feathers of the upperparts were much like those of the 

 adult, but not quite so brightly coloured. 



3rd Year. — After its second summer-moult the Cormorant 

 assumed the plumage of the adult, and the underparts were 

 glossy greenish-black, the feathers of the breast having 

 white bases, while those of the belly had the basal portion 

 smoky-grey. In British birds the white hair-like feathers on 

 the head and neck and the white flank-patches began to make 

 their appearance early in January, the perfect breeding- 

 plumage being generally assumed by the end of February. 

 The white plumes on the head were retained until the be- 

 ginning of April, when they commenced to drop out, and 

 they disappeared entirely by the middle of May; but the 

 flank-patches were retained till the middle of June and did 

 not disappear till the end of July. 



In looking through the very large series of skins in the 

 Natural History Museum, Mr. Frohawk had unfortunately 

 examined about one-third only of the specimens, and had 

 not seen the cabinet containing the British and European 

 skins, which included a number of young white-breasted 

 birds as well as birds in the second year's plumage. These 

 had been procured by Mr. Ogilvie- Grant in 1898, when he 

 was writing volume xxvi. of the ' Catalogue of the Birds iu 

 the British Museum.' 



Mr. F. W. Frohawk said that as no definite conclusion 

 had been arrived at respecting the length of time the 

 immature plumage might be retained in certain examples 

 of the Common Cormorant, he still held the opinion 

 expressed by other Members at the Meeting on the 16th 

 of March, 1910. There was no evidence, as far as he 

 knew, to prove that his white-breasted specimen might 

 not be a bird two years old^ retaining the white breast 

 similar to the first plumage. He also believed that it could 

 not be a bird of the first year, on account of the colouring of 



