18:^ LITTLE CORMORANT. 



The yoinig of tlie year have the head, nape, and 

 back of the neck blackish grey, darker inferiorly; 

 centre of the back and scapularies greenish black, 

 while the sides of the back and the wing coverts are 

 light grey, each feather broadly tipped with black, and 

 finely edged with white; upper tail coverts glossy 

 black; primaries, secondaries, and tail greenish black; 

 the naked parts in front of the eyes and on the throat 

 yellow; the rest of the throat and the abdomen white; 

 front of the neck mottled grey; flanks and under tail 

 and wing coverts black; beak yellow, with zigzag 

 transverse brown markings; feet brown. 



The young (light coloured) is from a female specimen 

 sent me by Mr. Tristram. The egg is also from the 

 same gentleman. The darker bird is the adult assuming 

 the spring dress, from Gould. 



The bird has also been figured by Savigny, in his 

 work on the Birds of Egypt, pi. 8, fig. 1; Gould, pi. 

 409; Dubois, Oiseaux de la Belgique, part 111, young 

 and adult. 



In the "Annales des Sciences Naturelles" for August, 

 1806, p. 460, M. Payraudeau described what he called 

 a new species of this genus, under the name of 

 PJialacrocorax Desmarestii. Many writers have con- 

 sidered this a distinct species, under the name of the 

 Mediterranean Shag, as it seems to be located only in 

 the northern ^^xt of that sea. Temminck, however, in 

 the fourth volume of his "Manuel," says that he could 

 not find a single constant variation from Carlo cristatus 

 {C. graculus of authors,) to our Common Shag. The 

 discussion, has been carried on down to these times, 

 and the leaning appears to be now, according to Gloger 



