THE BLACK COEMOKANT 



155 



The Black Cormorant. 



Phalacrocorax cario. 



Cosmopolitan, from New Zealand to Iceland. 



General colour glossy greenish black; top of head and part of neck 

 covered with long narrow white feathers; a crest of bluish black feathers; 

 a white border on the throat next to the bare gular pouch; a patch 

 of white feathers on each flank. Total length about 36 inches, culmen 

 2.3 to 8.2, wing 12.5 to 14, tail 6.8 to 7.2, tarsus 2.3 to 2.85. 



Nest built of various material, according to locality, but 

 usually of sticks, either high up in a lofty eucalyptus or on 

 lower shrubs growing in swamps, and sometimes on ledges of 



Wood's Nat. Bis. 

 Black Cormorant: Phalacrocorax carJjo. 



rocks, reefs or islands. Pour eggs is the full clutch, but some- 

 times not more than two or three are laid. They are a delicate 

 greenish-blue colour, covered with a white chalky substance, 

 laid on unevenly and easily removed. Thej^ measure about 

 2.36 X 1.48 inch. 



The birds nest in the inland districts, as well as near the 

 sea, usually in company with other Cormorants. 



Cormorants, of course, feed on fish, and so unfortunately 

 come into competition with the fishermen. In New South Wales 

 a price is placed on their heads, and fairly large numbers are 

 shot. Under ordinary circumstances the destruction of fish by 

 the birds is perhaps not very serious. There are many fish in 

 the sea, and the Cormorant is not so particular as man in his 



