400 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



deposit on surface. Average of 100 British eggs, 65.8x40,7. 

 Max.: 74x41.7 and 68.5x44. Min. : 57.5x39 and 64x38 mm. 

 Breeding -season. — Usually latter half April or early May. Incuba- 

 tion. — By both sexes. Period 28 days. 



Food. — Almost entirely fish, both fresh and salt water, including 

 trout, eel, pike, flounder, plaice, sand-launce, 15-spined stickleback, 

 haddock, young of coal-fish, mullet and conger up to 2J ft. Crus- 

 tacea occasionally taken, including crabs and Pandalus. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Resident. Generally distributed 

 on all coasts Great Britain and Ireland but absent as breeding 

 species from east coast England from Flamborough southwards 

 and south coast from Isle of Wight eastwards, also absent east coast 

 Ireland southwards from Co. Antrim (except Wicklow Head and 

 Lambay). Commonly visits many inland waters, and breeds in 

 a few places on islands in inland waters and inland cliff, nesting 

 as a rule on rocks but in west of Ireland also in trees and has bred 

 Norfolk (1914 and 1916) in trees. Some move southwards in autumn. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Greenland, Iceland, Faeroes, Norway to 

 Kola Peninsula, also N. America from Greenland to Labrador 

 and Hudson Bay. Generally resident,, but some pass south in winter 

 and have casually been observed as far as Canaries, Madeira, and 

 Azores, in America near New York, on Lake Ontario, Georgia, and 

 Carolina. Replaced by various subspecies in continental Europe, 

 to Central and E. Asia, in China, Japan, and India, Australia, and 

 New Zealand, all these forms being very closely allied, while P. c. 

 carbo is quite distinct from all. 



PHALACROCORAX GRACULUS 



330. Phalacrocorax graculus graculus (L.) — THE SHAG. 



Pelecanus Graculus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xn, i, p. 217 (1766 — ■ 



Europe. Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Pelecanus cristatus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, ii, p. 575 (1789 — " Habitat in 



Magna Britannia, Norwegia, Islandia, Groenlandia "). 



Pelecanus lophurus Graves, Brit. Orn., n, pi. and text, unnumbered 



(1813—" Bass Island in the Firth of Forth.") 



Phalacrocorax graculus (Linnseus), Yarrell, iv, p. 151 ; Saunders, p. 363. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Whole crown and 

 neck brown-black, glossed dark metallic green-blue ; back, rump 

 and upper tail-coverts same but glossed dark oily-green ; mantle 

 and scapulars glossed more purplish and each feather evenly and 

 narrowly bordered velvety-black ; chin and round base of lower 

 mandible with varying amount of white to brownish -white ; throat 

 glossed blue as neck, but often browner ; rest of under -parts glossed 

 rather dull oily-green ; axillaries and under wing-coverts browner 

 with little gloss ; tail-feathers black narrowly tipped brownish- 

 white when freshly moulted ; wing-feathers and primary- coverts 

 black slightly glossed green, inner edges of inner webs brown, 

 inner secondaries with more gloss ; all wing-coverts as mantle and 



