68 
AN AUSTRALIAN BIHD BOOK. 
ORDER XIV. — PEIiICANIFOR3IES. 
F. 59. PHALACROCORACIDAE (5), CORMORANTS, 42 sp. 
— 16(14)A., 6(2)0., 7(3)P., 6(5)E., 10(4)Nc., 
9(6)N1. 
5 142 Cormorant, (Black) , Black Shag, P/ia7acrocoraa? carbo. 
42 A., T., N.Z., COS. exc. S. Am. c. lagoons, sea 35 
Glossy blackish-green; side of neck, face bufPy white; 
white on thighs; f., sim. Fish. 
being free. Representatives of the six families are found in Aus- 
tralia. These birds are fishers par excellence. 
In the first family come the well-known Cormorants or Shags, 
birds found in almost every country in the world. Forty-two 
species are known, of which five occur in Australia. 
The large Black Cormorant is the common Black Cormorant of 
Britain. It has a very extensive range over North America, 
Greenland, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. 
The little Black Cormorant is found in Australia, from the 
Moluccas to Borneo, and in New Zealand. Indeed, New Zealand 
is the stronghold of Cormorants, as it possesses many species. 
The White-breasted and Pied Cormorants are so closely similar 
that possibly they will yet prove to be one species. Each is 
glistening white below, and jet black above. The bill is said 
to be longer in the Pied Cormorant, and the patch of naked skin 
near the eye is yellow, whereas, in the White-breasted Cormorant, 
