1186 
PHALACROCORAX CARBO. 
Mr. Dresser considers that American birds exceed European ones ; but' the dimensions he gives of Bay of Fundy 
specimens (wing l t’4 inches, tail 8‘0, tarsus 3 - 0, culmen 3'45) are, as regards wing and bill at any rate, by no 
means excessive. 
Distribution . — The Common Cormorant is, I think, a more frequent visitor to the island of Ceylon than 
lias been supposed, and, though it may not breed there, remains apparently (perhaps as an immature or non- 
breeding bird) during the entire year, as I have seen very large Cormorants, larger to the eye when seen at 
some little distance than the smaller species, on the Minery and Amblangoda lakes during the south-west 
monsoon. It has not been hitherto included in the Ceylon lists, but is, I am told, not uncommon during the 
cool season on the Jaffna estuary or lake, whence I possess fine specimens shot by Mr. Clarke and kindly 
given me by Mr. W. Murray. If the bird is as common on this lake as has been represented to me, it is no 
doubt to be found in other situations in the north, probably on the Palverainkadoo and Mullaittivu lagoons. 
According to Jerdon it is found throughout India, but rare towards the south, b’eing there found chiefly 
in rivers that run through forest ; in the north it is more common, he observes, especially in Bengal and on the 
rivers within the Himalayas. In Nepal I find Dr. Scully says it is found on the Trisul Ganga in November; 
and Mr. Brooks met with it above Mussooree. It appears not to be recorded from the Deccan by any observer 
of late; but further north and to the east it is found in Cbota Nagpur on both jheels and rivers : Mr. Ball 
notes it from the Rajmehal hills, Lohardugga, and Sirguja. It does not appear to inhabit the neighbourhood 
of Calcutta nor the district of Furreedpore. But turning westward, I find that it is found in the Allahabad 
district, probably breeding there, and is common in suitable localities throughout the Sindh, Jodhpore, 
Guzerat, and Kattiawar regions, and that, as regards the province of Sindh, it abounds on the Muneher lake 
and on the Eastern Narra; furthermore Mr. Hume noticed it all down the rivers Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, 
to Kurrachee, whence along the Mckran coast it was found very plentiful. At the Sambhur Lake Mr. Adam 
notes it as rare; and in Guzerat Capt. Butler says it is only a cold-weather visitant. Passing now beyond 
the Bay of Bengal, it is said to be common by Mr. Oates in the streams of the Pegu plain, though not noticed 
on the Pegu river ; it breeds in vast numbers also in the Myitkyo swamp. Further south in Tenasserim it 
is local, being found only on creeks between the Salween and the Sittang, westward of the latter stream, and 
also on the lavoy river. It does not inhabit the Andamans or Nicobars; but it is recorded from the island 
ot Sumatra, and is doubtfully included by Salvadori in the avifauna of Borneo. 
Beyond the Malay archipelago, in which, as a whole, its distribution seems as yet to be imperfectly 
worked out, it extends to Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, if we accept the verdict of Messrs. Finsch 
and Schlegel that the antipodian bird is the same as ours. It occurs at Cape York, down the east coast to 
New South \V ales and Victoria, and in Tasmania is very abundant, ascending the large rivers to the lakes, 
where Mr. Gould says it breeds. In the latter I have met with it on inlets and brackish lagoons. It is abun- 
dant in \\ estern Australia, and in New Zealand is common on the coast and in tidal rivers. Turning now to 
the noith, we find it recorded as common on the coast of China and in Formosa, but onlv found m the south 
in winter. Pere David notes it likewise from the rivers in the interior. Further north it has been obtained 
on the coast oi Mantchuria, and extends up to Kamtehatka; in Japan it is very common on the coast of Yezo, 
and was found by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer in great abundance at Tokio, as also far inland on streams in 
\amoto. In Eastern Siberia it is plentiful in parts, though not so on the Upper Amoor; it breeds on Lake 
Baikal, and appears on the rivers as soon as the ice breaks up. It is numerous in Dauria, and in Mongolia is 
abundant in the Hoang-ho valley and on Lake Dalai-nor. It arrives, says Prjevalsky, at Lake Hanka in 
March, and in Koko-nor at the same time. In Kashgharia, however, it is a permanent resident, writes 
Dr. Scully, who found it in August affecting mud cliffs at Tungtash in small parties ; and in Turkestan 
Seveitzoff says it breeds in the north and north-west, but occurs on passage only in the south-west. In 
Southern Persia Major St. John met with it abundantly on lakes and rivers; and Mr. Blanford says it is 
plentiful on the Caspian. On the coasts of Asia Minor it is also found, and in Palestine is abundant on the 
sea-board, according to Canon Tristram, visiting likewise the mouth of the Jordan. 
In Gieece it is very common, and breeds abundantly, write Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, on the Bosphorus 
c.nd Sea of Marmora. On the northern shores of the Black Sea and on the Sea of Azoff it likewise breeds, 
and occurs, according to Artzibasckeff, a Russian naturalist, in incredible numbers at the mouth of the Volga. 
