PHALACROCOEAX CARBO. 1183 



Adult female 1 (Ceylon). Length 32-5 inches ; wing 12-5; tail 6-5; tarsus 2-1 ; outer toe and claw 3-8 ; bill to gape 

 (straight) 3-5.— Adult males (Burinah). Length 32-0 to 32-7 inches; wing 13-3 to 13-6, expanse 51-0 to 52-0; 

 tail 6-8 to 7-5 ; tarsus 2-3 to 2-4; outer toe and claw 3-8 to 4-0 ; bill from gape 3-85 to 3-95 (Oates). — Adult 

 males (Kashgharia). Length 32-8 to 33-0 ; wing 13-7 to 14-0, expanse 55-5 to 57-3 ; tail 7-8 to 8-3 ; tarsus 2-1 to 

 2-2 ; bill from gape 3-8 to 3-9 : weight 4 lbs. 10 oz. to 4 lbs. 2-25 oz. (Scully). — Adult male and female ("Wales, 

 ten examples). Length 33-2 to 36-0 inches; wing 13-0 to 14-5, expanse 55-0 to 58-0 ; tail 6-54 to 7-0 ; tarsus 

 2-4 to 2-7 ; outer toe and claw 3-8 to 4-3 ; bill to gape (straight) 4-0 to 4-3 : average weight 6j lbs., varying 

 from 6J to 7| lbs. 



Note. Occasionally very large birds are met with ; one was shot some years ago near Aberystwith weighing 10 lbs., 

 and recorded in the ' Field.' The weight given by Dr. Scully is very low. 



There are 14 feathers in the tail of this species. 



Breeding-plumage. Iris bright emerald-green ; loral skin black, extending about - 2 inch below the eye, from which 

 line to the gape the skin is orange-yellow ; gular skin black, with pale yellow specks, or yellow-grey with yellow- 

 specks ; bill blackish, sides of lower mandible flesh-colour, darkening towards the tip ; legs and feet black. 



Male (March ; Craig y dern, Wales). Head, neck, centre of the interscapulary region, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 entire under surface, and under tail-coverts glossy black, with a greenish hue ; a sharply defined white gorget 

 bounding the gape and pouch, and running out into the centre of the latter passes round to the orbital skin, termi- 

 nating there, its general width being about an inch ; down the centre of the occiput and nape there is a line of 

 elongated feathers about 1A inch in length, forming a comb-shaped crest ; the front of the crown, as also the sides 

 (leaving a narrow streak down the centre of the occiput, on which the crest lies, and a broad space above the eye, 

 which passes down beneath the gorget), together with the hind neck and throat for a distance of about 5 inches 

 down, are overlaid with a close striation of narrow, silky, filamentous white feathers ; the feathers of the shoulders, 

 sides of the chest, the scapulars, tertials, and wing-coverts glossy brownish bronze, with clearly defined black 

 margins and black shafts ; primaries black, pervaded with grey ; outer webs of secondaries bronzed greyish, with 

 black edges, inner webs blackish grey ; tail black, the shafts of the feathers grey ; overlying the thighs a conspi- 

 cuous patch of white feathers ; under wing black. 



In Great Britain and probably throughout temperate Europe the silky neck- and head-feathers, together with the 

 white thigh-patch, are donned in February and put off again in May ; out of hundreds of birds which I closely 

 examined in Wales in June very few had the thigh-patches left, and not very many had more than a few scanty 

 white filaments round the throat ; none had any on the head, as these commence to be shed first, and are all gone 

 by the middle of May ; at the same time the white gorget undergoes an almost complete change of colour, becom- 

 ing brownish grey above the gape and round the edge of the black ; this is acquired by a moult, but also, as far as 

 I can observe, by a change in the colour of some of the feathers ; the chin remains white. 



Ohs. A specimen which had perhaps acquired this plumage unusually early has probably led Mr. Dresser to figure this 

 dress as the winter plumage ! 



Note. — This species has 12 tail-feathers. 



" Iris verdigris-blue ; nude orbits black ; bill dusky brown, reddish beneath ; gular skin yellow ; feet black." 



Winter plumage. " Head and neck shiuing black ; feathers of the back and wing-coverts bronze-colour, as in the last ; 

 throat white, this colour extending towards the eye, and passing into pale brown on the cheeks ; lower plumage 

 deep black.'' 



" In breeding-plumage this Cormorant assumes some white specks on the forehead and above the eyes, and a white 

 tuft behind each ear : the chin, however, is then black." (Jerdon.) 



Immature (Mt. Aboo, May). " Length 24-0 inches ; wing 9-75 ; tail 5-5 ; bill at front 2-25, to gape 3-0. 



•' Iris green ; upper mandible greenish black ; lower mandible fleshy. 



" Upper parts brownish black, slightly glossed with green ; scapulars and lower hind neck silvery earthy brown, 

 having many of the feathers, especially of the scapulars, bordered conspicuously with brownish black and finely 

 edged with pale brown ; wings and tail dark ; wing-coverts brown, glossed with green ; chin and upper throat 



