CORMORANTS 



(119) Phalacrocorax carbo 



(Linn.) (Lat., a cormorant; charcoal). 



CORMORANT; SHAG. Gular 

 sac heart-shaped behind, bordered by 

 white feathers. Tail with 14 feath- 

 ers. Plumage of adult shown. The 

 white flank patch, filamentous plumes 

 on the neck and crest are present 

 only during breeding season. Im. — 

 Brownish-gray above, with some 

 whitish edgings; grayish- white below 

 mixed with some dark feathers. 

 L., 36.00; Ex., 60.00; W., 13.00; T., 

 6.50; B., 3.40. Nest — Of seaweed 

 and sticks on rocky ledges of sea- 

 cliffs; four greenish-white, chalky eggs; 

 2.50 X 1.40. 



Range — Northern Hemisphere. 

 Bre.eds from Nova Scotia to Labrador 

 and Greenland. Winters south to 

 Long Island and, casually, S. Car. 



black, and many species are adorned with plumes or white 

 patches during the breeding season. Nearly all cormorants 

 have green eyes. 



The COMMON CORMORANT or SHAG is strictly a 

 maritime species and breeds in high latitudes — on our coast 

 from Nova Scotia to Central Greenland. This species, the 

 largest of the family, is found throughout the Northern 

 Hemisphere and is the one formerly used by the Chinese 

 for catching fish. While, at the present tiine, more modern 

 methods are used for fishing for commercial purposes, 

 many of these trained birds are still kept for the pleasure 

 of the owner or to get money from tourists by exhibiting 

 their prowess. 



The swimming powers of cormorants are excelled by no 

 other species of birds; while they can progress rapidly on the 

 surface, it is under water that their phenomenal powers 

 attract the most attention. A fish has small chance to 

 escape a foe so perfectly equipped as these fisher-birds — a 

 form that slides easily through the water; large feet, the full 



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