864 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



The young have the upper plumage brown, mixed with blackish, 

 and the lower parts reddish brown, white posteriorly, and the 

 throat whitish. 



This small Cormorant has been occasionally confounded with 

 the nearly allied P. pygmoeus, and P. africamts, but the latter 

 species has the back, scapulars, and wings always spotted, and has 

 a longer tail ; otherwise they are very closely alike. In Bree's 

 figure of pygmcsus, certainly very closely related, the young is 

 represented as entirely white beneath, in which state I have never 

 seen our Indian species. Bonaparte allots pygm&us of Pallas to 

 the North African race, also found in Asia and Western Europe, 

 and figured by Gould in his Birds of Europe, pi. 409, and gives 

 two other distinct species from India, viz., melanognathus, Brandt, 

 figured Hardwicke, 111. Ind. Zool. 2., pi. 56, sent from Pondicherry; 

 and niger Vieill (pygmceus of Museums), sent by Mace from India; 

 besides javanicus of the Malayan region. Except that he gives un- 

 usually small dimensions to his niger (13 inches), which is probably 

 an erroneous measurement, I see nothing in his description milita- 

 ting against all three being the same species. Whether, however, 

 the Indian species, or the one from Northern Africa, be the one 

 described by Pallas, it is difficult to decide, and I have followed 

 the ordinary nomenclature. 



The Little Cormorant is exceedingly common in every part of 

 India, frequenting alike rivers, lakes, tanks, and pools of water by 

 the road side, and is very tame and fearless. It hunts singly or 

 in pairs, or in small scattered parties, but collects in numerous 

 flocks for roosting, on trees overhanging the water, or occasion- 

 ally in large beds of reeds. It breads on trees, occasionally in the 

 midst of villages, having numerous nests on the same tree, and 

 laying four or five pale green eggs. 



There are v^ry numerous species of Cormorants, too many to 

 enumerate here, in all parts of the world, some finely crested, 

 other spotted throughout ; and there are four or five additional 

 genera noted by modern Ornithologists. One of the best known 

 species is the Shag or crested Cormorant of Britain and Europe, 

 Grac. cristatus, Linn. 



