Order STEGANOPODES. 



Family PELECANID^. 



THE COMMON CORMORANT. 

 Phalacrocorax car bo (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 39. 



This bird is plentiful about our rocky coasts, being more common on the north- 

 eastern shores of England and east coast of Scotland than the Shag or Green 

 Cormorant, though the latter predominates in many parts of the west. The 

 Common Cormorant is also widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and America, 

 and even reaches Greenland. The birds usually nest in colonies on high rocks 

 and cliffs by the sea, or occasionally inland on trees. 



The nest is constructed of sticks, grass, seaweed, and various odds and ends, 

 and contains from three to five eggs, which are coated with a white chalky 

 substance, overlying the delicate greenish-blue shell. The blind and naked young, 

 when first hatched, are slaty-black in colour. 



The Common Cormorant, often called the "Great" or Black Cormorant, feeds 

 on fish, caught with great dexterity, of which it requires a large amount to satisfy 

 its ravenous appetite. The birds have a characteristic habit, when gorged and 

 resting after a meal, of basking on some low rock, where they may be seen in 

 groups, some of the party generally spreading their wings to the sun and wind 

 so that they may dry. 



In the plate the Cormorant is shown in nuptial dress, with the white filaments 

 on head and neck, which are shed early in June. 



The sexes are alike in colour. 



68 



