255 
LONG-TAILED CORMORANT. 
Carlo longkaudits , Swains. 
PLATE XXXI. 
Bill yellow j general plumage black ; scapulars and middle 
wing-covers light grey, with a black terminal spot and white 
tip ; tail long. 
The Cormorants, like several other natural groups 
of plain coloured and unattractive birds, have been 
much neglected ; and there probably exists twice the 
number of species, even in our museums, to what 
have been described. This, which is the only one 
we have yet received from the Gambia, is very small, 
and is remarkable for its long tail of twelve feathers ; 
the bill is short and yellow, but the naked temple 
and orbits, from their appearance in the preserved 
specimen, seem to have been red. The base of the 
rictus and of the lower mandible is feathered, and 
there are others, very short, reaching to the front of 
the nostrils. The upper part of the head and neck, 
the sides, and the ears, are brown, but not glossy, 
and the edges of the feathers are pale ; this colour 
changes between the shoulders, and becomes deep 
black as far as the tail, which is tinged with cine- 
reous ; the scapular-covers are of a greyish-white, 
