GKACULIDJE, CORMORANTS. 



301 



Family GRACULID^. Cormorants. 



Bill about as long as head, stout or slender, more or less nearly terete, always 

 strougijr hooked at the end ; toiuia generally found irregularly jagged, but not 

 truly serrate ; a long, narrow, nasal groove, but nostrils obliterated in the adult 

 state ; gape reaching below the ej^es, which are set in naked skin. Gular pouch 

 small, but forming an evident naked space under the bill and on the throat, variously 

 encroached upon by the feathers. Wings short for the order, stiff and strong, the 

 2d primary usually' longer than the 3d, both these exceeding the 1st. Tail rather 

 long, large, more or less fan-shaped, of 12-14 very stiff, strong feathers, denuded to 

 the base bj- extreme shortness of the coverts; thus almost "scansorial" in struc- 

 ture, recalling that of a woodpecker or creeper, and used in a similar way, as a 

 support in standing, or an aid in scrambling over rocks and bushes. The bodj^ is . 

 compact and heavy, with a long neck ; the general configuration, and especially the 

 far backward set of the legs, is much like that of pygopodous birds. While other 

 Steganopodes can stand with the body more or less nearlj^ approaching a horizontal 

 position, the cormorants are forced into a nearlj^ upright posture, when the tail 

 aflbrds with the feet a tripod of support. They also, like the birds just mentioned, 

 dive and swim under water in pursuit of their prej', using their wings for submarine 

 progression, which is not the case with the other families, excepting Plotldre. 



Among osteological characters, aside from the general figure of the skeleton, a 

 long bony stjde in the nape, in the position of the ligamentum nucJice of many 

 animals, and ossified with the occiput, is the most remarkable. It occurs in the 

 anhinga also, but is there much smaller. The desmognathous structure is seen in its 

 highest development ; the palatines being not onl}^ soldered, but sending down a 

 keel along their line of union ; the interorbital septum is very defective, with 

 horizontal inferior border (a general character of the order except in the pelicans) . 

 The pterylosis agrees essentially with the ordinal pterylographic characters, but 

 the j)lumage is peculiar in certain details. Excepting a few speckled species, and 

 some others that are largely white below, the plumage is glossj' or lustrous black, 

 often highlj' iridescent with green, purple and violet tints, commonlj^ uniform on 

 the head, neck and under parts, but on the back and wing coverts, where the 

 feathers are sharp-edged and distinct, the shade is more apt to be coppery or 

 bronzy, each feather with well defined darker border. This concerns, however, 

 only the adult plumage, which is the same in both sexes ; the j'oung are plain 

 brownish or blackish. The cormorants have other special featherings, generally of 

 a temporary character, assumed at the breeding season and lost soon after ; these 

 are curious long filamentous feathers (considered by Nitzsch filoplumaceous) , on the 

 head and neck, and even, in some cases, on the upper and under parts too. These 

 feathers are commonly white, as is also a large silkj^ flank-patch acquired b3' several 

 species. Many cormorants are also crested with ordinary long slender feathers ; 

 the crest is often double, and when so, the two crests may be either one on each 

 side of the head, or they may follow each other on the middle line of the hind head 

 and nape. Our species illustrate all these various featherings. The naked parts 

 about the head vary with the species and afford good characters, especially con- 

 sidering the shape of the pouch, as noted by Mr. Lawrence and Prof. Schlegel ; the 

 skin is usually brightlj^ colored, and sometimes carunculate. The eyes, as a rule, 

 are green — a color not common among birds. 



Twenty-five species of cormorants may be considered established. Their study 



