876 



V. S. p. E. K. EXP. AND SUEVEYS — ZOOLOGT — GENERAL EEPOET. 



a short distance towards the hill ; very long, narrow, stiff white feathers on the neck and upper 



part of back; shafts of tail feathers black = G. penicillatus. 



Dark green ; neck and sides violet blue ; bill slender ; gular sac orange, feathers extending 

 upwards upon it from its lower margin half way to the bill ; slender white feathers on the neck 

 and sides ; shafts of tail feathers black G- violaceus. 



Phalacrocorax, B r i s s o n . 

 GEACULUS CAEBO, Gray. 



Common Cormorant. 



Peltmn-M larho, Likn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 216. 



Phalacrocorax carbo, Bon. Syn. 1823, No. 353. — Ib. vd^r. macrorhynchus, Cons. Av. II, 1855, 168. — Nhtt. Man. II, 



1834, 479.— Ann. Orn. Biog. Ill, 1835, 458.— Ib. Sjn. 1839, 302.— Ib. Birds Am. VI, 1843, 



412 ; pi. ccccxv. 

 Gi-aculus carbe, Gray, Gen. of Birds, 1845. 

 Phalacrocorax americanus, Reich. Syst. Av. 1850, t. 47. 

 " Phalacrocorax macrorhynchus, Cuv." Bon. Comptes Rend. XLII, 1856, 766. 



Sp. Ch. — Bluish black ; feathers on middle of occiput and hind neck elongated ; gular sac yellow, at the base of which is a 

 broad band of white ; linear feathers on the head and neck white ; a patch of white on the sides ; third primary longest ; tail 

 of fourteen feathers. 



JlduU. Plumage in general black, glossed with greenish blue ; the feathers of the upper part and sides of the back and wing 

 coverts are dark ash, with bronzed reflections, and bordered with greenish black ; primaries and tail feathers greyish black, 

 secondaries greyish brown ; bare space around the eye dull olive, under the eye red ; the gular sac yellow, encircling the lower 

 part of which is a broad band of white ; numerous linear filamentous white feathers are distributed over the head and neck ; on 

 the side over the thigh is a patch of elongated linear white feathers ; upper mandible greyish black, with the edges yellowish 

 white, lower dusky yellowish white at the base ; iris bluish green ; eyelids with dusky margins ; tarsi, feet, and claws greyish 

 black. 



Length, 37 inches ; wing, 14 ; bill, 3.50 ; tail, 6.50 ; tarsus, 2.25 ; outer toe and claw, 4.25 ; inner, 2.90 ; hind, 1.90. 



The female resembles the male, but is smaller. 



Hab. — Labrador, and along the coast as far south as New Jersey in winter. 



The bill is strong and powerful, the ridge is smooth, but the sides of both mandibles are 

 rugose. 



These birds are abundant on the coast of Labrador, where large numbers assemble for the 

 purpose of reproduction, forming their nests upon the inaccessible ledges of rocky cliffs. 



Their mode of flight is swift and strong. Their food is obtained by diving and pursuing it 

 beneath the surface, where they make rapid progress by the aid of their wings. 



List of specimens. 



