THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 43 



ber. It is generally found in large rivers and bays. Its 

 food consists of aquatic plants and grasses. 



Coot, Black. See American Scoter. 



Coot, Sea. See Surf Scoter. 



Coot, White-Twinged. See White- winged Scoter. 



Cormorant, or Shag. — -This bird is a rare visitor to 

 New Jersey, breeding from New England to Greenland 

 and in the winter months coming south occasionally as 

 far as New Jersey. It is thirty-six inches in length, the 

 bill being three inches, and the general color a glossy 

 black ; the upper wing is black and brown and the head 

 is sprinkled with white ; the back is a light brown. It 

 breeds on rocky cliffs, surfaces of rocky islands and some- 

 times in trees, the nest being conical and made of sticks 

 and seaweed. The eggs are from four to six in number, 

 of a pale bluish white, two and a half by one and a half 

 inches in size. Its food is fish. 



Cormorant, Mtouble-crested. — This bird is very sim- 

 ilar to the foregoing, the principal difference being that it 

 is six inches shorter, the bill two-thirds of an inch shorter, 

 and that the belly is a glossy black, the upper part being 

 •grayish brown. The eggs are from two to four in num- 

 ber, somewhat smaller than those of the preceding but 

 similar in color. It breeds from the Bay of Fundy north- 

 ward and in the winter goes south as far as Maryland. 

 It is very common in New Jersey during migrations and 

 in fact aU winter. Its food is fish. 



Com? Bird. — Length, seven inches; extent, eleven 

 inches; bill, two-thirds of an inch; head, a silky drab. 

 The rest of the plumage is black with a gloss of green or 

 purple when viewed in certain lights. The female is uni- 

 formly gray. 



