165 
Obs. The size of this species is very variable ; and a female specimen in the Auckland Museum gives the 
following measurements ; — ^Total length 34 inches j wing, from flexure, 12 ; tail 5 ; hill, along the ridge 
3'2j along the edge of lower mandible 4’5 ] tarsus 2’25 ; longest toe and elaw 3'5. 
Ymng. Crown of the head, hack of the neck, mantle, and upper surface of wings dull brownish ash, silvery on 
the head and neck, tinged with light brown on the mantle and wing-coverts ; back, rump, and thighs dull 
ashy brown glossed with green ; the spotted character is absent, but the feathers composing the mantle and 
the smaller scapulars are obscurely marked at the tips with ashy brown; throat, fore neck, and all the 
underparts, including the abdomen and under tail-coverts, ashy white tinged with buff ; under surface of 
wings dull brownish ash ; tail-feathers greyish brown, with whitish shafts. It has no crest, nor has it any 
of the ornamental white plumelets. Bill dark yellow, brownish on the culmen ; loral membrane orange ; 
legs and feet orange-brown. 
Nestling. In the very young nestling the skin is entirely bare, nothing being visible but the roots of the downy 
plumelets. When more advanced the body is covered with thick down, dark ash-grey on the upper surface 
and white on the underparts; the forehead, fore part of crown, and a portion of the face and throat 
perfectly bare. In the next stage the quills and tail-feathers are the first to appear. 
Progress towards maturity. In my collection there are two specimens in transition plumage. They have neither 
occipital nor vertical crests ; the crown of the head and back of the neck are sooty grey glossed with green ; 
an indistinct streak of white passes from the eyes down the sides of the neck to the roots of the wings ; the 
upper part of the fore neck is dark leaden grey mottled with black, indicating a change of plumage ; upper 
surface as in the adult, but more tinged with brown, and having the spots less distinct ; back, rump, and 
lower part of abdomen greenish black ; a few scattered filamentous white plumes on the thighs ; fore neck 
and all the under surface dark leaden grey. In one of these specimens the throat and fore neck are more 
largely mottled with black, the grey of the underparts is much lighter, and the thighs are deeply stained 
with brown ; on the wings, where the plumage shows a transitional condition, the black-tipped coverts are 
taking the place of the light-brown feathers with white edges, these latter being characteristic of the young. 
Ohs. The plumage of the adult is exactly the same in both sexes. The vertical and occipital crests are present 
all through the year, but as the breeding-season approaches they become larger and more eonspicuous, while 
the hind neck and the flanks are profusely ornamented with loose white plumes three quarters of an inch 
in length. 
This beautiful representative of the Crested Shags is abundant on the coast of the South Island, but 
is seldom met with on the northern side of Cook’s Strait. I observed a party of three at the mouth 
of the Waikanae river in January 1864; two young birds were killed in Wellington harbour in the 
winter of 1865 ; and other instances have already been mentioned on page 154. 
It associates in large flocks, and frequents the open sea in the vicinity of the coast, as well as 
the mouths of estuaries and sounds, subsisting on fish and crustaceans, which it obtains by diving. 
It is apparently a very inquisitive bird ; for I have often observed a flock of them make up to a 
steamer going at full speed, and fly round her, sometimes returning a second time to reconnoitre. 
Unlike that of the other Shags, its flight consists of quickly repeated flappings of the wings, 
without any sailing movement ; and when out of the water the black plumage of the underparts is 
very conspicuous. It never rises to any great height above the water, which is probably due to the 
comparative shortness of its wings. 
It breeds on the high shelving rocks on the coast or within the sheltered arms of the sea, the 
nests being arranged in successive tiers of considerable extent, and as closely grouped together as the 
form of the rocks in the locality chosen as a breeding-station will admit of. 
The eggs (generally two in number) are elliptical in form, measuring 2'26 inches in length byl'4 
in breadth. When taken from the nest they are covered with a yellowish-white chalky matter, but 
on being cleaned they present a uniform surface of soft bluish green. 
