﻿170 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Famay 
  PHA-LACROCORA-CIDAEi 
  

  

  Cormorants 
  

  

  Bill 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  head, 
  nearh' 
  cylindrical, 
  strongly 
  hooked 
  at 
  tip, 
  edges 
  

   jagged; 
  gape 
  very 
  deep; 
  wings 
  strong, 
  stiff 
  and 
  comparatively 
  short; 
  tail 
  

   long, 
  tipped 
  and 
  fan-shaped 
  of 
  12 
  to 
  14 
  feathers; 
  body 
  heavy; 
  neck 
  long; 
  

   legs 
  set 
  far 
  back. 
  Consequently 
  cormorants 
  stand 
  in 
  a 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  vertical 
  

   position 
  like 
  grebes, 
  and 
  like 
  them 
  dive 
  from 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  water, 
  and 
  

   pursue 
  their 
  prey, 
  using 
  their 
  wings 
  under 
  water 
  like 
  the 
  diving 
  ducks. 
  There 
  

   are 
  30 
  or 
  more 
  species 
  of 
  Cormorant, 
  inhabiting 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  w^orld, 
  10 
  of 
  

   them 
  occurring 
  in 
  North 
  America. 
  Besides 
  the 
  two 
  occurring 
  in 
  New 
  York, 
  

   a 
  third, 
  the 
  Florida 
  comiorant, 
  has 
  approached 
  our 
  western 
  borders 
  [see 
  

   Langdon, 
  Jour. 
  Cin. 
  Soc. 
  Nat. 
  Hist. 
  3:229]. 
  

  

  Phalacrocorax 
  carbo 
  (Linnaeus) 
  

   Cormorant 
  

  

  Plate 
  9 
  

  

  P 
  e 
  1 
  e 
  c 
  a 
  11 
  ti 
  s 
  carbo 
  Linnaeus. 
  Syst. 
  Nat. 
  Ed. 
  10. 
  1758. 
  1:133 
  

   Phalacrocorax 
  carbo 
  DeKa}^ 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  292 
  

  

  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  119 
  

  

  phalacro'corax, 
  Gr. 
  & 
  Lat., 
  a 
  cormorant, 
  from 
  (^aAaxpos, 
  bald, 
  and 
  Kopa^, 
  

  

  raven; 
  car'bo, 
  Lat., 
  charcoal 
  

  

  Description. 
  Breeding 
  plumage: 
  Mostly 
  glossy 
  black, 
  the 
  back 
  and 
  

   wing 
  coverts 
  bronzy 
  gray 
  edged 
  with 
  black; 
  wings 
  and 
  tail 
  grayish 
  black; 
  

   fringe 
  of 
  pouch, 
  threadlike 
  plumes 
  on 
  head 
  and 
  neck, 
  and 
  flank 
  patches 
  

   white; 
  pouch 
  yellow; 
  iris 
  green; 
  feet 
  black; 
  occipital 
  crest 
  black. 
  Winter: 
  

   No 
  crest 
  or 
  white 
  feathers 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  flanks. 
  Immature: 
  Brownish 
  

   gray 
  and 
  blackish, 
  darkest 
  on 
  the 
  hind 
  neck, 
  rump, 
  sides 
  and 
  under 
  tail 
  

   coverts; 
  grayish 
  below, 
  the 
  belly 
  largely 
  ivhite. 
  Tail 
  of 
  14 
  feathers. 
  

  

  Length 
  34-40 
  inches; 
  extent 
  60; 
  wing 
  12-14; 
  tail 
  6-7.75; 
  bill 
  2.85-3.4; 
  

   gape 
  4; 
  tarsus 
  2.5. 
  

  

  The 
  Common 
  cormorant, 
  or 
  Shag, 
  is 
  a 
  maritime 
  species 
  rarely 
  found 
  in 
  

   the 
  interior 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  but 
  occurs 
  as 
  a 
  transient 
  visitant 
  in 
  small 
  numbers 
  

   off 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  Long 
  Island, 
  September 
  22 
  to 
  November 
  8. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   records 
  from 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  probably 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  next 
  species, 
  

   as 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  no 
  specimen 
  from 
  our 
  inland 
  waters. 
  

  

  The 
  Common 
  cormorant 
  like 
  the 
  Gannet 
  is 
  characteristically 
  maritime 
  

   in 
  habitat 
  and 
  agrees 
  with 
  that 
  species 
  in 
  distribution. 
  

  

  